JakartaPost-May 13
The Jakarta Police cracked down on thuggery and street brawls, deploying more than 650 officers for a two-week-long operation across the capital to create a safer city following complaints from the public. The Berantas Jaya operation started on Friday and will last until May 23, with military personnel and those from the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) joining the operation. It targets individuals or mass organizations (ormas) involved in racketeering, extortion, intimidation, vandalism of public facilities and street brawls, which have caused fears among people and business owners, who say that thuggery has hurt the economy. By Monday, some alleged violators had been arrested in the first four days of the city-wide operation, said Chico Hakim, special staffer to Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung. Without revealing their identities or their alleged crimes, Chico said he expected that criminal charges would deter them. “Jakartans are impacted directly by thuggery and street brawls. [We believe] that there is no place for violence in the city,” Chico said on the sidelines of an event on Monday. Thugs often operate unchecked by law enforcement, collecting money from street vendors and demanding overpriced parking fees from visitors in several spots across the city, such as around Tanah Abang market, the busiest textile market in the capital. Certain incidents involved the use of violence, as in one incident which took place in a busy street in Tanah Abang in March, when a man was stabbed in broad daylight by a 29-year-old street thug for refusing to pay money, the video footage of which went viral. A few days later, the police arrested the person. PP head Satriadi Gunawan said on Sunday that the agency paid particular attention at several parking spots where extortion, vandalism and street brawls have been reported. Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Karyoto said last week that thuggery might be rooted in street brawls, which often involve students and sometimes result in serious injuries or even fatalities. The police recorded 45 cases of street brawls across Greater Jakarta in April alone. In Tanah Abang on Sunday, police officers reportedly removed flags depicting the symbols of Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and Pancasila Youth (PP), two mass organizations that had clashed in the past. Read more at:
