Wiranto promises to help secure Jakarta schools
Wiranto promises to help secure Jakarta schools
JAKARTA (JP): Military personnel will be deployed at selected
schools, which are prone to students brawls, to teach students
self-discipline, Greater Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen.
Wiranto said yesterday.
Wiranto said in an informal coffee morning discussion with a
number of senior high school principals that the presence of
military personnel at posts built near such schools are badly
needed.
The plan to deploy military personnel at problem schools is in
response to a request from one of the school principals. The school
heads were invited by the newly-installed military baton commander
to discuss ways to resolve the chronic student brawls in the city.
"Monitoring the atmosphere at particular schools for too long a
period may lead to an unfavorable outcome in the future," he
warned, adding that the presence of personnel would be limited.
The students, who are expected to play a significant role in the
future development of the nation, may develop a lack of
responsibility towards their own future if they are continuously
monitored, the two-star general feared.
"I could deploy any number of personnel requested by the public,
but is spying and suppressing the students every day a remedy?" he
asked the teachers. "Even I could not reconcile myself into
accepting such a method," he continued.
The latest police data reveals that a total of 160 student brawls
were recorded in 1994, with 10 students being killed, 79 wounded,
917 netted of which 795 were imprisoned, and at least 36 public
buses damaged.
Among school representatives attending the informal meeting with
Wiranto yesterday were principals from STM Penerbangan and SMA
Purnama in South Jakarta, STM 12 and SMA 13 in North Jakarta, STM
PGRI 4 and STM Negeri I in Central Jakarta and SMA 78 in West
Jakarta.
The data shows that students from the above schools have been
involved in several brawls, mostly with nearby schools. The brawls
mostly take place in the afternoon with some of the students
carrying guns, iron buckled belts, sickles and other sharp weapons.
During the discussion, the teachers informed Wiranto that the
brawls stem from several factors such as gossip mongering, a lack
of public transport, the large number of students in certain
schools and the large number of students in a certain area.
The headmaster from STM 12 in Tanjung Priok told Wiranto that her
students were frequently attacked by other groups of students on
their way home from school. Students of the school are forced to
get rides on the back of empty container trucks passing the area
due to the shortage of public buses and other transport, she said.
A participant from Central Jakarta asked Wiranto to urge school
operators not to build their schools in areas where there are
already many schools.
"There's no guarantee of avoiding brawls in Central Jakarta if
there are about 7,000 students from 19 schools in one location
waiting for a limited number of buses," he said.
He made the plea because there are businessmen intending to build
new schools in the middle of the city as "they believe that they
can earn lots of money inside the city."
In response to the request, Wiranto vowed to seriously explore
the case. He will also ask the authorities to operate more buses in
the crowded area to serve the students.
"But I know that this will not entirely solve the problems of
brawling. The answer also depends on the students' willingness (to
stop brawling) with support from all of us," he said.
Wiranto, therefore, hoped that all student organizations at the
schools would play an active role in helping their friends.
During the meeting yesterday none of the participants discussed
the alleged role of the students' parents, especially those who are
high-ranking officers, who always defend their children's actions.
"Student brawls will never be stopped as long as such parents,
whose children often play a significant role in the fights, refuse
to help us discipline their delinquent children," a senior police
officer said.(bsr)