Zaky Pawas & Chrestella Tan – Parts of Jakarta resembled an urban battlefield over the weekend, with by far the worst outbreak of street brawling yet and damage caused across the city.
With at least seven separate street fights recorded in different areas of the capital on Saturday and Sunday, the recent spate of street violence seems to be escalating, and police now say they are at a loss as to how to contain it despite experimenting with CCTV cameras in trouble spots.
On Saturday night, two groups of high school students fought in front of the Bulungan Sports Hall in South Jakarta. "Both attacked each other with planks of wood. Three students were hurt," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said.
More fights broke out early on Sunday shortly before 4 a.m., including at Jalan Raya Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta; Jalan Otto Iskandardinata in East Jakarta; Jalan Panjang Kebon Jeruk in West Jakarta; and Johar Baru in Central Jakarta.
In the Johar Baru incident, two groups of youths were seen pelting each other with rocks, bottles and planks of wood, then returned in the afternoon for a second round at about 5 p.m. "Even though there were remarkably no casualties, these fights did result in damage to private property and public facilities," Baharudin said.
The causes of the fights were still unclear on Sunday night, but the discomfort of the recent hot weather as well as the long-term effects of increased social friction from Jakarta's rapidly growing population and rising cost of living were all thought to be contributing factors in the recent escalation of street fighting.
So far this year, police have recorded at least 35 fights in Greater Jakarta: 20 in the city and 15 in Bekasi. Last year, there were a total of 74 cases, a jump from 16 in 2009, Baharudin said.
The worst of the fighting came just two weeks ago when a huge brawl involving scores of combatants armed with crude weapons and Molotov cocktails broke out near the busway shelter in Pasar Rumput, South Jakarta. Police had to use tear gas to control the mob during that incident.
Pasar Rumput in particular has seen frequent fights between members of rival communities separated by the West Flood Canal. Most of the riots are sparked by disputes over "trivial issues" such as football results, kite competitions and pigeon races, authorities have said.
In the wake of the latest violence, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo ordered five security cameras installed in the area, similar to ones installed in Johar Baru. But these cameras have not yet been effective in preventing brawls, Baharudin said.
"It's because there is insufficient lighting at the location of the brawls, since they generally occur at night," he explained.
Baharudin said that to prevent the brawls, the police were conducting 24-hour patrols in the affected areas. "In Johar Baru, we have at least 10 police officers on guard," he said. "However, the sites of the brawls keep changing and tonight we have around 40 personnel on patrol."
Ganda Upaya, a sociologist from the University of Indonesia, said police had done too little to prevent the brawling. "They have changed their role into mediators. So instead of going through the proper legal process, they only settle for a truce between the brawling groups," he said.
According to Ganda, the incidence of riots was escalating in Jakarta because of a myriad of social problems, "from unemployment to poverty". "Jakartans have a fast-paced life, which causes friction. There are also a lot of groups forming, such as school A, B or C," he said.
Ganda said the members of these gangs focused on solidarity within their particular social group. "And then, either by social or financial status, they create exclusivity that stops them from accepting people from any other groups," he added.
"Surveillance cameras are useless when law enforcers are not firm enough. There should be tough legal sanctions. We also need to provide some social facilities that can help these youths do positive things."