Sutiyoso defends policy on street people operation
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)