Khairul Ikhwan D/BI & GB, Jakarta – The notorious 'Petrus' killings of the 1980s, when possibly thousands of underworld figures were eliminated by the security forces under orders from former president Suharto, might seem like a distant memory in the new democratic Indonesia. Not so.
The North Sumatra Provincial Legislative Council is apparently considering employing phantom assassins from the police to combat increasing criminal activity.
Speaking to Detik last Sunday, Council member Eron Lumban Gaol said that he had made a special request before the Council after witnessing the rapid decline in security in the provincial capital Medan and many other parts of the country in recent years.
Eron said that in the near future the Medan police planned to raid certain areas for firearms and other weapons. He then added that, "The mysterious assassins must be activated again. The National Police, in this case the North Sumatra Police, must prepare to carry this out."
Eron is the deputy leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in North Sumatra, which is headed by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, and a member of Council Commission II which deals with law and internal affairs.
He believes that these 'phantoms' should be allowed to operate without public notification. Without a hint of irony, he then added, "At this time, when we are in the middle of learning about democracy, the guarantee of security is very much needed. The phantom assassins are one way to do this," he said Eron explained that in the 80's, criminality had been drastically reduced after the phantom assassins were deployed. Criminals elements had to think twice before acting.
He emphasized that the police must target specific criminals when the operation commences. "The Legislative Council will support the North Sumatra Police if they are ready to implement 'petrus' but like I said before, don't be indiscriminate in deciding the targets," Eron said.
He also admitted that he has been terrorised by unidentified phone callers for his strong remarks on Medan's criminal scene. The terror started after his comments on the murder of Kaleb Situmorang, who was shot to death last week. He claimed Kaleb had been targeted because of his knowledge of the bombing incident in Medan earlier in the week.