The once famous anecdote Petrus (mysterious shootings) probably re-emerges in the minds of many people in reaction to the newly appointed National Police (Polri) chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri's decision to stage an all out war against thugs. Will police repeat the petrus practices in eradicating banditism?
In the 1980s, the military and police killed thousands of preman (hoodlums) throughout the country, but told the public the killed criminals were victims of wars among themselves.
The official version of the military could not be verified at the time. But it was president Soeharto himself who conceded in his autobiography, Soeharto: Pikiran, Ucapan, dan Tindakan Saya (Soeharto: My thoughts, Words and Deeds), that the killings were based on his instruction.
Hopefully Gen. Bambang will always keep in mind the unlawful killings of the alleged criminals under Soeharto's era. We all support the police chief's determination to eliminate thugs. But we need to remember no matter how ruthless or how disturbing the bandits are, all citizens are equal before the law. They are humans that have dignity, and their basic rights should be preserved by the state.
Bambang's predecessor, Gen. Sutanto, declared war – and consistently continued the war for three years until his replacement last month – against drugs and gambling, focussing especially on the widespread togel (illegal lottery).
The newly appointed National Police chief also wanted his own trademark. He recently declared the police battle against street bandits. Can Bambang match his successor's track record?
Since the operation kicked off on Nov. 2, police have netted nearly a thousand street thugs in five major cities. Half of the suspected thugs were from Jakarta. Some are now being detained, while many others were sent to rehabilitation centers and others were freed. The operation is also being carried out in East Java, Central Java, North Sumatra and Yogyakarta.
National Police detective unit chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji said Tuesday the National Police headquarters would get rid of street thugs by conducting a continuous operation amid the rising concern about the increase in violent crimes.
Susno said the operation would only last until the streets were cleared of thuggery. "This means there will be no end to this operation," he was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
We hope the police will do their jobs consistency and continuously this time to ensure that there are no thugs operating on streets in urban areas.
Meanwhile, we also question the target of the current police operation, which only seems to focus on street thugs, who carry out petty crimes like stealing and extortion.
We, of course, agree that they should be pulled off the streets because their actions have caused problems for many people.
But how about the groups of people who hide behind youth and religious organizations to carry out their thuggish activities? Such thugs are no less notorious than street criminals. Members of such organizations often blackmail street vendors, shops, restaurants, discotheques, cafes and other businesses with "protection money".
Therefore, the police should not tolerate their thuggish activities, let alone, give protection to their crimes. The police should treat them like other criminals as their crimes are no less notorious.
It is the job of police officers, who have received payment from the taxpayers, to protect all citizens. They should not additionally burden citizens, including businesses, by asking them for "protection money".
Gen. Bambang needs to remember all citizens have basic human rights and the state is mandated by the Constitution to protect the fundamental rights of human beings.