Sutiyoso defends policy on street people operation

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso defended on Tuesday his decision to launch a massive operation against street people in the capital.

He said he was not pretending when he announced his intention to establish security and order in the capital.

"I've asked city public order officials to prioritize a sympathetic approach when dealing with street people to prevent any clashes with them.

"We must consider the prevailing conditions, in which many residents have lost their jobs since the economic crisis hit the country in mid-1997," the Governor said at City Hall.

Earlier this month, Sutiyoso vowed to clean up the streets as part of an effort to restore and uphold public order in the city.

"We'll take stern action against all street people doing their business on the streets. We have the full backup of the city police and city military command," he said on Monday last week.

After Sutiyoso's call for an immediate public order operation, however, the capital's five mayors decided to provisionally leave street vendors out of the cleanup operation.

Though they insisted they would act firmly against beggars, illegal traffic wardens, becak (pedicab) drivers, street corner car washers and street musicians.

The governor's call initially won the city police's support. They later retracted it however, citing a financing problem.

Yet Sutiyoso is insisting on continuing his policy in the absence of police assistance.

"I've asked all my mayors to carry on with the operations even without the police's help," he said last week.

"But the police have to take responsibility if the street people attack any of my public order officials," he said.

Sutiyoso admitted, however, that the administration had yet to launch a full-scale and integrated operation to uphold public order in the city.

"Such a full-scale operation will be launched sometime next week," he said on Tuesday.

As has been predicted, the public order operation has been met by strong opposition from street people.

"Six becak drivers attacked city public order officials who wanted to seize their pedicabs on Jl. Kebon Kacang, Central Jakarta, on July 13," the head of the data processing department at the city center for social disturbances, Raya Siahaan, said on Tuesday.

"Another clash happened on July 14 when workers at a street car wash on Jl. Ahmad Yani in East Jakarta challenged public order officials. They (the officials) had to cancel their action," he added.

Raya also revealed that Sunarji, a member of the Hansip civilian defense force in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta, was hospitalized after a run-in with street vendors on July 19.

"Sunarji was on duty cleansing Jl. Ahmad Yani of street prostitutes and transvestites.

"He was escorting seven street people to Cipayung social rehabilitation center in East Jakarta when local street vendors attacked him," he said. (nvn)