There were few traces left of the violent brawls at Pasar Rumput market in South Jakarta on Friday. Instead, banners saying “we want to stop these clashes and we want peace” and “respect the coming of the holy month of Ramadan” hung along Jalan Sultan Agung, which for the last two weeks has seen a series of fights.

Although police and authorities were quick to say that the brawls were caused by social frictions and disputes over “trivial issues” such as football results, kite competitions and pigeon races, residents believe the clashes were drug-related.

“There is a third party whose aim is to use this situation to supply drugs to the Menteng Tenggulung community,” said one Pasar Rumput resident, who wished to remain anonymous.

“Over the years, the frequency of the clashes has intensified. There were three clashes in one month this year. Some people said the clashes occurred because there was a dispute over parking spaces. I doubt that.

“I strongly believe that there is a third party who wants to take advantage of this situation.

The area has long been associated with drug users but authorities have refused to acknowledge this.

Residents claim that teenagers often shoot up heroin beneath bridges in the neighborhood, particularly at night. They say the next day the ground is littered with needles.

One former drug addict in Pasar Rumput told the Jakarta Globe that there’s money to be made from the brawls.

“Drug prices only increase under two conditions: if there is a religious holiday or a riot,” the former addict said.

Jakino, the urban ward chief, declined to comment on the brawls when contacted by the Globe.

Three times this month, huge brawls involving scores of combatants armed with crude weapons and Molotov cocktails broke out near the busway shelter in Pasar Rumput. Police had to use tear gas to control the mobs.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said there was little evidence to support the residents’ claims about drugs.

“I cannot give any comment on the allegation about drugs until the allegation is proven by arresting the drug dealers,” he said.

Police have recorded at least 35 brawls in Greater Jakarta this year. Twenty of those were in the city proper, and 15 in Bekasi. There were 74 brawls last year, a jump from 16 in 2009.

This month clashes appeared to have occurred simultaneously across the capital. Nine people were arrested on Wednesday.

Mohammad Irvan Olii, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, said it was unlikely the clashes were being masterminded by drug dealers.

“I doubt that the clashes were created by drug dealers so they could raise their prices, unless the clashes occurred between two rival gangs. The possibility of that scenario is unlikely,” he said. “But, if the dealers are taking advantage of this situation, [price increases] might happen.”

Another Pasar Rumput resident said it appeared the brawls were planned and not spontaneous as police and experts claimed.

“It was Sunday morning,” the resident said. “There were a couple of guys who were in sports outfits walking by. We did not think they were suspicious until they suddenly threw some bottles at display windows. Suddenly a brawl occurred.

“We do not know who they were or why they did it.”

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has launched an initiative to preserve the crumbling colonial-era buildings in the Old Town area of West and North Jakarta, a job it says the city administration has failed to do.

Firmansyah Rahim, head of destination development at the ministry, said on Friday that it was regrettable the Jakarta administration had shown little interest in preserving the historic buildings in the area, which is also known as Kota Tua.

“I’m so glad to see the enthusiasm shown by the other stakeholders in getting involved in improving tourism in Kota Tua,” he said. “Sadly, however, very few Jakarta residents visit the area.”

He said that this highlighted the city’s failure to play a leading role in preserving the area and promoting it as a viable tourism destination.

According to Firmansyah, state enterprises own 22 abandoned historic buildings in the area, and the preservation of these buildings is critical to boosting tourism there.

“I believe there are eight state-owned companies that own historic buildings in Kota Tua,” he said. “We want to discus with them ways to maintain those buildings. Recently there was a report of one historic building collapsing because it had been neglected.

“So we need to find a solution to preserve those buildings, either by turning them into art galleries or restaurants or the like.”

To that end, the ministry launched the Destination Management Organization, aimed ultimately at improving tourism in the area.

“In order to develop Jakarta’s Kota Tua as a globally competitive tourist destination, the ministry will help facilitate an assessment process and conduct studies to improve tourism in the area,” Firmansyah said. “But in order to do so, we need to find common ground and establish a commitment among stakeholders and the government.”

Friday’s launch of the DMO included traditional performances such as the padupa dance that originates from the coastal communities of Sunda Kelapa, the city’s historic harbor.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has implemented the DMO program in 14 other tourist destinations in the country, including Pangandaran in West Java, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mount Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara and the whole of Bali.

Others include Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Lake Batur in Bali and the maritime areas of Raja Ampat in Papua, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Bunaken in North Sulawesi.

The final Harry Potter installment, Transformers 3 and Kung Fu Panda 2 will be released in Indonesia before the end of the month, Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said on Thursday.

It appears, however, that it is not all good news for Indonesian movie lovers, with Jero indicating the dispute with Hollywood had not been completely resolved and that ticket prices were likely to rise.

“The two movies are now being censored at the Film Censorship Board (LSF) and if everything is okay then they should be released before [Ramadan],” he told reporters at the State Palace.

The Motion Picture Association of America did not return emails on Thursday seeking comment about Jero’s statement.

Jero, in a doorstop interview, said that even though the movies would be screened, it did not mean the tax dispute had been resolved.

Asked about a potential increase in ticket prices, he said the ministry would not impose a limit in any price hike, though he urged movie theaters to avoid extreme increases.

“Because the movies that will be shown are top movies, if there is price rise, then it should only be small.”

Muklis Paimi, the head of Film Censorship Board (LSF), confirmed to the Globe that three Hollywood films were being censored.

“Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Kung Fu Panda 2 are being censored,” he said.

“Hopefully, we will have finished this by tonight.”

The Potter movies have a devoted following in Indonesia, where thousands of fans play the wizard sport of Quidditch on Twitter.

Last month, a new tax regime for foreign films was agreed in response to protests by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) over an attempt to charge studios more to screen films in Indonesian cinemas.

“We hope that there will be no more boycotts like this,” he added.

Sjafruddin said local cinemas would also screen several Hollywood hits that they had missed during the five–month boycott.

Since the studios began boycotting the country, Indonesian movie lovers have missed out on “Black Swan”, “True Grit” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”.

The MPA represents US studios including Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox.

Additional reporting AFP

Jakarta authorities insisted on Wednesday that they would be ready to begin issuing a new electronic identification card, or e‑KTP, as planned on Aug. 1.

“Next week, we will install the equipment at subdistrict and urban ward offices,” said Purba Hutapea, head of the city’s population office. “But we are still waiting for the equipment to arrive.”

Purba said Jakarta, which will be the first to try out the new identity cards before they are rolled out nationwide, needed 707 specialized machines, including smartcard readers, an automated fingerprint identification system, fingerprint scanners, digital cameras, computers and backup power supplies, to produce the e‑KTPs.

He said his office had recruited more than 1,400 officers to work the machines from August to November at 267 urban wards. Each machine, which needs two people to run, can handle information from 150 residents per day. Purba said the registration, data processing and issuing of cards would take up to two weeks.

The city would shoulder “minimal costs” during the registration drive, he added, because the bulk of the funding would come from the Ministry of Home Affairs — which has allocated Rp 6.6 trillion ($770 million) for the e‑KTP program and other citizen registration initiatives.

Purba said the government had for the past two months been campaigning to introduce the new system to the public.

He said it might take three or four months to process the 7.3 million eligible residents in Jakarta.

Every resident should be sent a notification letter asking them to visit their urban ward or subdistrict office, bringing with them their old identity cards. Anyone above the age of 17 is required to have an identity card.

“The invitation will be sent based on the data we’ve obtained from the family card records,” Purba said.

Suyadi, an official from the Palmerah subdistrict office, said the procedures for making the e‑KTP were not too different from those of the old identity cards.

Officers record residents’ data, including fingerprints, signatures and digital photographs. Then that information is sent to the Home Affairs Ministry, which will issue the e‑KTPs and distribute them through urban wards.

Raydonnyzar Moenek, a ministry spokesman, said it expected the required equipment to arrive and be ready on time.

“God willing, it will be launched some time next week, and we’ll deliver it to all subdistricts on the same day,” he said.

He said the Indonesian electronic identity card would be a combination of those currently being used in other countries, although he did not elaborate.

“Our e‑KTP will be much more comprehensive than those now in use in China and India,” he said.

Jakarta government officials are cracking down on beggars, buskers and street kids in what it says is an effort to rid the capital of “social welfare problems” during Ramadan.

On Wednesday, about 10 days ahead of the expected start of the holy month, Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) head Effendi Anas said his staff started an operation targeting the fringe groups, which it has labelled PMKS.

During the fasting month there is often an increase in their number on the capital’s streets as the generosity promoted by Ramadan attracts many from impoverish rural areas.

“This operation is aimed at providing comfort and safety to Muslims who are fasting during Ramadan,” Effendi said. “And also to keep PMKS from bothering people in public.”

The operation will involve 300 public order officers and will last until July 30, just before Ramadan starts. It will target the Gambir, Tanah Abang, Kebayoran Lama and Cilandak areas.

Another round of operations would be carried out from Aug. 16 to 28, toward the end of the fasting month and just before Idul Fitri. “During the first round, a persuasive approach will be used and they’ll be sent home,” Effendi said. “But the second time around, we will arrest them and send them to social welfare homes. They won’t be able to go home to celebrate Lebaran with their families.”

This, he said, has proven to be effective. “They really want to celebrate Lebaran with their families,” he said, adding that they would be released two days after the occasion.

Last year, the Jakarta administration arrested 2,500 PMKS during Ramadan, a 50 percent drop from the figure in 2009. “Hopefully, the number will fall even more this year,” he said.

So far, 123 PMKS were accosted after the first day of the operations, 26 of which did not have Jakarta residence cards.

Kian Kelana, the head of Jakarta’s Social Affairs Office, said the government has prepared three social welfare homes for PMKS in Kedoya, Ceger and Cengkareng.

Ahead of the holy month, expected to start on Aug. 1, police said there would be no raids by hard-line organizations, which have occurred in past years.

Officials have likewise assured the public that the government had enough essential goods to meet the high seasonal demand.

To accommodate an estimated 2.5 million passengers traveling to and from their hometowns at the end of the month, state railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia announced that an additional 26 trains will be operating during the peak travel period beginning Aug. 25 and run for 18 days.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon now appear on the Coming Soon movie list on the Cinema 21 website. Does this mean Hollywood films are back in Indonesia?

Noorca Massardi, a spokesman for Cinema 21, Indonesia’s biggest cinema chain, told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday in a text message that viewers can check the Cinema 21 website to see which Hollywood movies will be playing soon.

But Djonny Sjafruddin, head of the Indonesian Cinema Companies Union (GPBSI), cautioned that the wait may not be over yet. “Although they have appeared on the list of movies coming soon, that does not mean they will come very soon,” he explained.

“It could be one week, two weeks or even one month before the screening,” he said.

“However, as almost all film importation issues are now solved, especially regarding customs, royalties and income tax, we’re now only dealing with technical issues,” he added.

Djonny said Hollywood films might arrive here in as little as 10 days, but he cannot yet give an exact date.

“Our priority is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, because of high demand from the audience,” he said.

Shafiq, a member of Indo Harry Potter, an online fan community with six thousand members across the country, told the Globe he is sure that Harry Potter will be screened in Indonesia.

“The only question now is when exactly will it be shown? We are really curious about it,” he added.

Although all film importation issues were resolved, Ukus Kuswara, director general of culture, arts and film at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has not been able to confirm when Hollywood films will return to Indonesian cinemas.

“I have not been able to confirm when Hollywood films can be screened, but we will inform the press once everything is really clear,” he said.

Newly registered film importer Omega Film was given a film import license on May 3, but a freeze was imposed as officials sought to clarify its relationship with Indonesian film giant Cineplex 21.

Cineplex 21 is affiliated with Camila and Satrya, two major film importers banned by the Finance Ministry pending payment of Rp 22 billion ($2.6 million) in back taxes and interest.

Omega was the only company given an import license among the six that applied, as four appeared to have the same address as Omega. It was not clear why the fifth was rejected.

Tourism Minister Jero Wacik has said that the Motion Picture Association of America, the umbrella group for six major Hollywood studios that boycotted Indonesia in February over a royalty dispute, only wants to deal with importers it is familiar with, understood to mean Camila, Satrya and the Cineplex group.

Psst, have you heard the news? The iPad 2 is here.

Huge tech product launches usually get trumpeted for weeks in advance, with ads all over the papers, TV and billboards, and word of mouth building up expectation and even desperation in customers’ minds.

When it comes to products as sought-after and hotly anticipated as Apple’s second-generation version of its smash-hit tablet computer, traditional marketing goes out of the window.

Instead, the first clue the new iPads would be on sale on Friday was … when they appeared on sale on Friday. If you didn’t hear the whispers during the day, this may be the first you’ve heard about it.

All of the secrecy, of course, is intended just to make you want it that much more, and with the launch restricted to Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta, queues were forming within hours of shops opening.

Dwi, from Zoom, an official reseller at Paris Van Java in Bandung, said that the absence of an official, publicized date for the launch was in line with Apple Singapore’s policies.

“It is actually a policy from Apple Singapore and we don’t know the reason why, but people were so excited,” he said.

One reason may be to avoid disappointment with limited supplies coming into the country.

The updated version of the first iPad — which was launched in Indonesia 12 months ago — improves on the original, as it is lighter, thinner and has two cameras. Its price tag here starts at Rp 4,899,000 ($572) for the base model with Wi-Fi only and goes up to Rp 8,000,000 for a 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G enabled model.

The prices are close to Apple’s recommended US prices, and relatively cheaper than many other Asian and European countries where high consumer taxes add to the cost.

The iPad 2 has been out since March in some countries, and Ari Soetjitro, a consultant manager with iBox, an official Apple reseller, said he believed the reason for the long delay before the iPad 2 went on sale here was because official resellers had to wait for the Directorate General of Post and Telecommunication to issue a license.

An ongoing court case involving two men being prosecuted over reselling smuggled iPads here has highlighted the huge business of bringing sought-after gadgets into Indonesia for resale on the gray market.

Even with the official launch, however, customers will have a hard time ensuring they get their iPad 2.

Ari said iBox only had enough stocks of the tablets to last three days, and customers would have to line up for them as no orders were being taken. Dwi said 50 units had already been sold at his Bandung store on Friday.

Erikus Pujiantoro, a customer service officer at a Yogyakarta branch of Emax, another official reseller, said stocks were strictly limited and likely to run out.

“Many customers came on Friday and there was a line at the store. But there was no chaos,” he said. “I guess most of them were so excited because they had only just heard about the launch.”

Some authorized Apple resellers did not have any stock. Subiyanto, the owner of iStore at Poins Square in South Jakarta, said his store would only receive units next week and advised customers to book ahead.

Yuli, a saleswoman at PcMax at Carrefour Sunset Road in Bali, said the outlet had no word on when the iPad 2 would be available there.

Samuel, from The Addict at Tunjungan Plaza, Surabaya, said the iPad 2 was not available at his store.

Official iPad 2s all come sealed and accompanied with an Indonesian manual, as required by law. They also come with an Indonesian serial number and adaptor plug.