Evening star., 1945-12-30
Batavia Native Police
Disbanded by British;
New Force Created
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
BATAVIA, Java, Dec. 29.-Britisr
troops in a series of swift, syn
chronized raids rounded up and dis
armed all Indonesian police in Ba-
tavia today, disbanded the force
and informed its members the step
was taken because some police &C.
lively co-operated with 'lawless
elements"
At the same time, British troops
throughout strife-torn Western Java
occupied public utilities and searched
native compounds for arms, against
minor opposition. Telephone ex-
changes and police stations in Ba-
tavia were occupied without incident
but sniper fire opposed the occupa-
ton of the power station at Buiten-
zorg, and there WIS some resistance
elsewhere. ~
A new police force took over in the
capital, made up of British, Dutch
and Indonesian personnel. British
military police, including Indians,
were made responsible for the overall
city area; Dutch police for protested
areas, and such Indonesian police as
were retained for the Indonesian
quarter.
Assembled at Headquarters.
The raids began suddenly at II
am. British military police and
paratroops quickly rounded up all
the capitals members of the In
donesian Peace Preservation Corps.
IT. K. r. and assembled them at
police headquarters.
This statement was read to the
Indonesians:
The reason for taking this step
Is that indisputable proof now
exists not only of the inability of
the civil police to maintain law and
order, but also of the fact that some
police members have actively CO.
operated with extreme and lawless
elements in the city and have as
sisted in kidnapping innocent people
and looting their possessions.
THAT there are some policemen
who have tried to do their duty in
this difficult situation is well appre-
ciated by the Allied authorities.
Such men will undoubtedly be given
an opportunity to serve IN the newly
formed police force. In the mean
time we are compelled to conf1ne
you all in this police headquarters
and disarm you. From now on it
will be illegal to wear the present
uniform outside police headquarters.
Your confinement will be of short
duration. Arrangements are in
hand to provide you with food.
Will Carry Only Pistols.
The new police force will wear a
uniform consisting of khaki shirt,
khaki trousers, khaki side-cap and
a black armband with the letters
G. P. (civilian police) in white. The
men will be armed with pistols only
and will be commanded by 1t. Col.
Harding, deputy provost marshal of
Australian forces in the Neither
lands Indies.
officials of the unrecognized
1ndonesian government and other
leaders were informed of the meas
ure shortly before the operation was
carried out, a British spokesman
said.
There was no official Indonesian
opposition to this move nor to the
occupation of the public utilities
plants, which, the British spokesman
said, were merely placed under AL
lied supervision" Personnel of the
plants in Batavia remained on their
jobs.
The only public utility not yet put
under Allied supervision was the
railways. However, feeder line
between Batavia and Tanjongpriok
its port, has been under British con-
troll for several weeks.
Opposition at Semarang.
The British reported Batavia gen.
orally quiet. At Semarang there was
some opposition during a search of
native compounds for illegal arms,
and at Buitenzorg, where there was
some sniper fire, one automobile
carrying snipers was captured, the
communique said.
In Batavia, an order cancelling
war correspondents late permits was
withdrawn when the newsmen pro-
tested they often had to work beyond
the 10 pm. curfeW. But the corre-
spondents were warned that sentries
were instructed to fire on cars fail
ing to halt after curfew.
The guard at headquarters of 1t
Gen. Sir Philip Christison, Allied
commander in the Indies, has been
strengthened since the disappear
ance of two Gurkha sentries who, a
British officer said, may have been
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