Arientha Primanita – A transvestite organization on Tuesday urged the public order agency, or Satpol PP, to abstain from using violence when conducting raids.

Members of Indonesian Transvestite Communications Forum visited the Satpol PP's office to meet with the agency's head, Effendi Anas.

Yulianus Rettoblaut, commonly known as Mami Yulie, the chairperson of the organization, said the forum wanted to have a better dialog with the city administration.

"Many of our members have lodged complaints regarding Satpol PP's manner when conducting raids," Yulie said. According to him, the forum has 4,000 members and 65 percent of them do not have Jakarta identity cards.

Seruni, 23, a transvestite and a social welfare volunteer, said that not every transvestite hanging around Taman Lawang, Central Jakarta, was there for prostitution.

"I was at Taman Lawang to distribute condoms to my friends, but public order officers without uniforms forced me to the car and took me to the Kedoya shelter," said Seruni, who suffered wounds on his hands from defending himself.

Taman Lawang, located at Jalan Latuharhary in Menteng, is notorious for being transvestites' pick-up point.

Effendi Anas said that his agency was willing to discuss the method of their raids with any stakeholder. But he said everyone must accept that transvestite communities existed in society.

"So the solution must be in everyone's interest," he said. "We try to use persuasion when conducting raids. But for social problems, like transvestites, of course law enforcement attempts are still needed if persuasion doesn't work."