The bodies of victims, especially those with tattoos, were deliberately scattered in public spaces. In order to cause a deterrent effect, he said. Peter later became New Order's tool in spreading fear and silencing discordant voices. The crime rate under the New Order government was at its highest in 1983. At that time, robberies and muggings were rampant.
In order to get money, they not only threaten their victims, but also injure, even kill. The presence of groups of criminals and thugs does not only appear in Jakarta, but also extends to remote areas of the archipelago. The role of the police in cracking down on crimes is insignificant. In the midst of the chaos, the New Order regime launched the Celurit operation.
Initially, the operation was started in Yogyakarta in March 1983. In its implementation, Kodam Jaya directly under the command of the Commander of the Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Pangkomkantip) Soedomo began to take action against the perpetrators of crimes, while taking an inventory of the names of the perpetrators. The victims fell.
Their bodies were found by residents in public places, such as bushes, overhangs of shops, to riverbanks. The narrative of violence by 'playing the judge' itself is getting stronger because it gets the direct blessing of the New Order leader, Suharto.
"We must automatically take treatment, take firm action. What kind of decisive action? Yes, it must be with violence. But violence doesn't necessarily mean shooting, bang! bang! Just like that. No! . Because they fought, they were shot."
“Then the corpse was left just like that. That's for shock therapy, shock therapy. So that people will understand that there are still people who can act and deal with evil deeds," said Suharto as written by G. Dwipayana and Ramadhan KH in Suharto's book: My Thoughts, Sayings, and Actions (1989).
Even so, Peter's operation was initially carried out in secret, but as cleverly as the carcass was covered, the smell still smelled. New Order-style justice enforcement immediately raises the pros and cons among the Indonesian people. Meanwhile, the international community continues to criticize New Order violations through various human rights organizations.
Suharto remained in his position that Petrus was deliberately prepared because small people were increasingly vulnerable to becoming criminal victims. He joked that the government was never arbitrary in arresting criminals or thugs with firearms. Those who resisted were shot. But the reality is quite the opposite.
People with tattoos – as reported by many mass media – are enough evidence that tattooed people are identified as criminals, so they deserve to be shot. The incident then became the beginning of the stigma of people with tattoos being considered criminals, which at least still persists to this day.
“He (Soeharto) is very good at wrapping his ambitions by highlighting his image as a village boy, wears a T-shirt at home, smiles easily, likes raising livestock and fishing. However, behind his smile he knows the murder of thousands of street people who were shot by Peter (mysterious killer) namely the shooting of thugs or criminal recidivist whose bodies were placed in public places between 1983-1985 which totaled 5,000 people. Those who were killed had a common characteristic, namely having tattoos on their bodies,” wrote Asvi Warman Adam in the book Uncovering the Manipulation of History: Controversy and Perpetrators (2009).
Indications of Peter being a political toolPeter's operation was not only used as an New Order as a tool to eradicate crime in remote parts of the country. Meanwhile, Petrus is said to have been used as a political tool to silence and criticize political opponents of The Smiling General. The narrative is because the New Order with Petrusnya deliberately presented themselves as a great force ready to eliminate all forms of threats that lead to efforts to weaken the government's role in society.
“What was not widely known at the time, the mysterious shooting was also suspected to have a political dimension. It is said that many of the criminals who were slaughtered were criminals who were trained by the special operations unit (opsus) led by Ali Murtopo. The criminal group, known in Central Java as 'gali' (a combination of wild children), was mainly used in the general election campaign to terrorize the government's political rivals, especially the forces of political Islam," explained Salim Said in the book Witnessing 30 years of Suharto's authoritarian rule (2016). ).
Peter's operation also shows the fact that criminal groups and urban thugs were placed like thugs or champions during the colonial period. Which, the criminals have a strategic position, but vulnerable. Australian researcher, Ian D. Wilson said that the vulnerability of thugs and gangsters in the end still depends on the 'backers' of political networks that are affiliated not only with the state, but Suharto.
Bad luck is actually obtained by criminal groups who work individually or in small gangs without a pattern agreed upon by the authorities, they are in a vulnerable position. That is the position that Ian D. Wilson says has been felt by members of the Ali Murtopo 'zoo'.
Because the main key to being free from the New Order-style "clean-up" operation is loyalty to the state, the military, and of course Suharto. The Pancasila Youth Organization (PP) emerged as the best example. PP at that time was ready to help as long as the country needed it.
“Local thugs, in this case, are a microcosm of the state, which can help explain why the emergence of autonomous violent entrepreneurs in the late 1970s was something that Suharto could not allow. The key to survival for thugs is to organize and declare full loyalty to Golkar, the military, and the president. Larger organizations with a national reach, such as Pemuda Pancasila survived when Petrus was barely touched,” concluded Ian D. Wilson in the book “Politics of Preman Preman: Ormas and Street Power in Post-New Order Indonesia (2018).”
*Read other information about HISTORY or read other interesting writings from Yudhistira Mahabharata.
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