Lenny Tristia Tambun, Jakarta – A furious Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said on Friday that he would send a bill to the coordinator of Thursday's protests in support of Prabowo Subianto's Constitutional Court appeal – after those involved ran riot over parks around Jalan Medan Merdeka.

"I asked the head of Jakarta Parks and Cemetery Agency yesterday to send a letter to the coordinator," Basuki said on Friday. "We will fix the parks first, then we'll send them a letter to charge them the repair fee."

Hundreds of paramilitary and bussed-in protesters gathered in front of the Constitutional Court on Thursday as the judges prepared to give their verdict on Prabowo's appeal against the presidential election result. Trucks attempted to push through police lines and police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the mob.

Basuki, who is a member of Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) political party, was unamused by the anti-social behavior.

"It's the second time," the exasperated deputy governor said. "Previously, they did it at the KPU [General Election Commission] office, now in Jalan Medan Merdeka. That's why we ordered the head of the Parks and Cemetery Agency to send a comprehensive letter including pictures. Those supporters must have a coordinator."

Basuki even went as far as to say that the perpetrators could not be from Jakarta as residents of the capital would not have trashed their own parks. Anecdotal evidence of littering around Jakarta's parks indicates, however, that this may not apply to everybody in equal measure.

"The park damage shows that those who joined the rally weren't from Jakarta. Jakarta residents wouldn't want to ruin their own parks," Basuki said.

Parks agency chief Nandar Sunandar said the authority already had an estimate for the cost of repair.

"The damaged parks are located at the Bank Indonesia roundabout, the Patung Kuda traffic circle, and the park in front of the Constitutional Court," he said. "We have done the calculations for the repair – we will need up to Rp 200 million [$17,100]."

Basuki then said that the government planned to install 3,000 CCTV cameras throughout the city. "We are putting up CCTV cameras with sharper images so we can see who damages the parks," Basuki said. "Then we can put them in jail. We cannot do that now; We cannot even see who scribbles on walls. We will put up more sophisticated cameras that can detect faces."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/basuki-bill-prabowo-supporters-trashing-city-parks/