Residents threaten to destroy red-light district

JAKARTA (JP): At least 50 residents of the Kramat Tunggak red- light district in North Jakarta went to City Hall yesterday, threatening to destroy the brothels in the area if the city administration did not close them down soon.

Yusuf Al Ghifari, a representative of the residents, gave the city only until the end of the year to close the brothels down because they had frequently created disturbances among local residents.

"If the administration doesn't speed up the closure process, we won't be responsible if something bad happens. We aren't threatening you but it's just a warning," he told Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs Djailani, who talked with 10 of the demonstrators.

Yusuf considered the administration's insistence to close the center at the end of 1999 as too long.

The city's plans to relocate the 11-hectare prostitution complex, founded in the early 1970s, have been discussed intermittently since the 1980s.

A study concluded that an average of 3,000 customers visit the complex daily. Over 1,600 prostitutes and 258 brothel staff work in the area.

Djailani said yesterday that the administration had finally decided to close down the center by the end of 1999 instead of relocating it.

"There is no longer a plan to move it to the Thousand Islands or Rawa Malang, both in North Jakarta, as was previously discussed. We don't want to relocate it since that would be the same as sanctioning prostitution," he said.

The demonstrators, including women and students, waved posters reading "Kramat Tunggak: Harassment of Women's Dignity", "Kramat Tunggak Sex Market" and "Sexual Harassment is Happening in the Country".

Hermansyah, one of the residents, said the brothel should have been burned during last May's riots.

"I forgot to target Kramat Tunggak during the burnings last May," he said.

Yusuf said local residents had made threats if the result of yesterday's negotiation did not satisfy them. A group of women from a local Islamic study group is reportedly planning to drive the prostitutes away.

He said if the women's efforts failed, another group of men and youths from the neighborhood's mosques would destroy the district after Friday prayers the following week.

"We don't want such a disgraceful thing to happen. So the administration should listen to the people's voice," he said.

Djailani stressed, however, that the closure process would have to take time since the center's workers were also human beings. "We cannot just drive them away. We should instead use a humane approach."

Djailani said the administration had made efforts to solve the prostitution problem, including limiting the number of sex workers and urging those over 35 years old to quit. It has also offered sewing and beauty classes to prepare prostitutes for a new profession.

"But we should also realize that it takes time. I hope people can understand," he said.

Commenting on the threats of burning the brothel, Djailani said he hoped people would be patient.

"Anarchy won't solve the problem," he said. (ind)