Jakarta – Dozens of transvestites and activists staged a peaceful protest at City Hall on Wednesday, demanding the city administration investigate the death of a transvestite following a raid by public order officers.
The protesters, including members of the Arus Pelangi Organization, the Indonesian Transvestites Communication Forum and the Poor People's Alliance, accused public order officers of abusing Elly "Sayep" Susanna during the raid on Jl. Latuharhari, Central Jakarta, last month.
They said the officers pushed her into the nearby river and then threw stones at her until she drowned. "The city administration must investigate the case and take strict action against those responsible for the death," said Rido Triawan, director of Arus Pelangi.
Public order officer deployment needed to be reviewed as they often violated human rights and conducted aggressive raids, he said.
"The governor must tell the public order officers to use a persuasive approach, not a violent one, because they can become more brutal than the police," he said. He also said that his team would push the Central Jakarta Police to investigate the case.
According to Freddy Simanungkalit, the advocacy division head of Arus Pelangi, the incident happened on Nov. 17 at around 9:30 p.m. when several public order officers tried to arrest transsexuals they alleged were sex workers along Jl. Laturharhari and its surroundings, known as the Taman Lawang area.
Some of the transsexuals jumped into the river to escape, but Elly was unable to swim. Her friends said they saw her fighting with some of the officers.
"They saw the officers push Elly into the water and throw stones at her," Freddy said. Her body was found on the next day in Cideng River, Central Jakarta.
Freddy also said his team later checked with the subdistrict office and was told that no official raid had been planned for that day.
"It was only a routine patrol. So the crackdown was illegal," he said, adding that Elly's family had not received an apology from the public order officers.
It is not the first time public order officers have been accused of abusing civilians during raids.
A few months ago, a three-in-one jockey, Irfan Maulan died in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. Activists alleged that he had been beaten by public order officers but the case was never solved.
Yuli Rettoblaut, head of the Indonesian Transvestites Communication Forum, said public order officers often take the cell phones of people caught in raids, as well as extorting money from them and sexually harassing them. "Crackdowns are only used as excuses for them to take our money and cell phones," she said.
She said that when Elly's body had been found her underwear was missing, indicating that the officers had tried to undress her during the fight.
Dudung Supriadi, a city official from the social welfare agency, said he would take the groups' complaints to the Governor Fauzi Bowo, who was not present during the protest.
Central Jakarta public order agency head Subandi denied the allegations his officers had chased the transsexuals or pushed Elly into the river. "They were afraid when they saw my men, so they ran away. And Elly jumped into the river," he told The Jakarta Post.
He added that his team had begun patrolling the area every night after receiving complaints from people in the neighborhood, saying they were disturbed by the transsexuals' activities. "Every night the transvestites play loud music and offer sexual services, causing discomfort in the neighborhood." (dia)