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From cattle prods to cobras

Source
The Economist - January 25, 1997

Jakarta – Snoozing in a glass case by the entrance to a police station just outside Jakarta lies the key to a peculiar experiment in crowd control. The case contains seven cobras. They are the first stage in what the local police chief believes will be a breakthrough in his struggle to maintain law and order. "So far this is just a trial," says FBI-trained Lieut-Colonel Alex Riatmojo. But the colonel hopes that in time his officers will be able to disperse demonstrations armed with nothing more than wriggling reptiles.

The ancient world offers at least one precedent for the colonel's idea. Hannibal is said to have won a sea battle against the Romans by throwing cauldrons of snakes into enemy ships. Colonel Riatmojo does not want his men to go that far. He envisages them waving the cobras to intimidate violent rioters, but he admits that more practice is needed before the policemen are themselves completely at ease with the snakes. He is unwilling to explain how they will avoid being bitten, or how they will get close enough to a stone-throwing mob for the snakes to have the desired effect.

Bizarre as this experiment may seem, it comes as no surprise that Indonesia's police should be so preoccupied with riot control. The country has had three serious outbreaks of unrest since October in which at least nine people have died. Last July, the riots that shook Jakarta after a clumsy move by the security forces against Megawati Sukarnoputri, an opposition leader, raised concerns about Indonesia's long-term stability.

In that episode, the police performed lamentably, lashing out at bystanders and running away when confronted by larger groups of protesters. Senior policemen have since gone abroad to seek more training and equipment to help them control crowds. Western governments, however, are finding it increasingly difficult to explain to their electorates why they should sell water cannon and electric cattle prods to a government with such a poor human-rights record.

Colonel Riatmojo's snakes could well be his answer to the difficulties Indonesia faces in buying riot-control equipment. An alternative solution might be to look at the mistreatment meted out by his own security forces. This, along with economic grievances, is one of the main complaints cited by ordinary Indonesians who have turned against their government. They seem to want more charm, fewer snakes.

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