Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

I've signed a few petitions organised by Avaaz.org. These include one protesting the use of Japanese tsunami relief funds being used to provide security for a whaling fleet, another condemning the use of torture by Syria's regime against demonstrators, and others concerning the rape of the planet by oil companies and their rapacious ilk.

At the last count, Avaaz had 10,580,054 members who receive email notifications from a dedicated team funded by donations from the members. Our concerted voices do have an impact, yet I feel that the suggested action requested from "friends across Indonesia" may be counter-productive.

The suggested petition is worded thus:

To President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono:

In the wake of the A.A.L. sandal scandal, we call on you to end the criminalisation of children, initiate a fundamental review of the police, and devise urgent reform programmes so that our police carry out their civic duties repsonsibly (sic). This is a time for you to stand with Indonesian citizens — we count on you to take all necessary steps to bring about a police force that works for the people, not against them.

Yes, I am in whole-hearted support of the message, and have already drawn attention to it in my last post. However, Avaaz has the following on the petition page: Since police in Palu brutally beat fifteen year-old A.A.L. and threatened him with a 5 year jail sentence in the 'sandal scandal', citizens across the country are standing up against police brutality. If we can ramp up public pressure now we could end this abuse.

'Torture' is ingrained in the mindset of the police, and was throughout colonial Dutch times and the Suharto era. A mere petition will do nothing to change it, nor will SBY be swayed, as he will surely refer to foreign-funded NGO's interfering in Indonesian affairs, as he did recently.

Let the pressure mount from within is what I've suggested  A petition will do nothing, but making monkeys out of the police by presenting them with bananas is not an arrestable offence, but they will surely take note. Non-violent yet upfront demonstrations can be effective and media-worthy events.

Mweanwhile, the case for police reform is already a media topic, as this recent opinion article in the Post  clearly shows.

Punishment for children should provide strong educational and deterrent effects instead of merely throwing them in jail. Civility is supposed to be a yardstick when it comes to dealing out punishment for kids.

Hence, the need for Juvenile Court legislation that really makes sense, that would prevent children from being detained in prison. There must be correction houses, such as boarding schools or special dorms, for children with legal problems.

The government and the House of Representatives need to say yes to pass the bill without delay. The bill must give an ear to a restorative justice approach with a view to prioritizing mediation and rehabilitation over penalties.

The absence of the country’s justice system in dealing with young delinquents frequently makes law enforcers take a punitive approach.

I would add that civilian control of the police is of paramount urgency.. Although it will probably take a generation for critical reasoning to be engrained in the rakyat, there are signs that it is beginning to take hold. AAL is an unfortunate victim, a martyr to the cause, and there will be more resulting in an even gretaer pressure for true reformasi to take hold.

So, my message to Avaaz is simple: Sabar aja, dong!