Bimantoro's defiance lauded by observers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The refusal of National Police chief Gen. Surojo
\nBimantoro to immediately return the command baton and attributes
\nto President Abdurrahman Wahid following his dismissal has won
\nsupport from police observers.<\/p>\n
Koesparmono Irsan, a former senior police officer who now
\nheads the police Bhayangkara University, slammed the issuance of
\na number of presidential orders to evict Bimantoro, saying that
\nit had worsened the conflict within the National Police.<\/p>\n
\"On the one side, people may say that Bimantoro has been
\ndisobedient, since he has refused a presidential order to return
\nhis baton. On the other, there is a thing such as dignity. This
\nis what Bimantoro has had to struggle for, and is struggling for
\neven now,\" Koesparmono told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He contended that if the President insisted on dismissing
\nBimantoro, he first had to secure approval from the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR).<\/p>\n
\"Since he has failed to do so, Bimantoro has no obligation to
\nfulfill the presidential order,\" Koesparmono said.<\/p>\n
Separately, secretary-general of Indonesian Police Watch
\n(Polwatch) Adnan Pandupradja, suspected that the President's
\norder had a strong connection with his intention to impose a
\nstate of civil emergency if his political opponents continued
\nwith their move to impeach him.<\/p>\n
\"The imposition of a state of civil emergency needs support
\nfrom the police force. The police should remain neutral in facing
\nthe political situation now developing, and distance themselves
\nfrom any political interests,\" Adnan told the Post.<\/p>\n
\"For the sake of the nation, I support Pak Bimantoro in
\nkeeping his baton, at least until the special session of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly is over,\" said Adnan, who is also
\na lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, top police generals have said that the National
\nPolice were calling for a meeting on Monday of middle-ranking
\nofficials from the City Police and National Police, reportedly to
\ndiscuss the issue.<\/p>\n
\"Let's see what happens. Rumors are turning the entire
\nNational Police crazy. They go as far as to suggest that one
\nforce is going to arrest Bimantoro, for not obliging the
\nPresident's order,\" a top police official told the Post on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, legal expert Jimly Asshiddiqie supported
\nBimantoro's defiance, stating that Bimantoro could not surrender
\nthe command baton to anybody outside the National Police
\norganization.<\/p>\n
\"He (Bimantoro) should wait until a new police chief is
\nappointed to fill his post. It's true that the National Police is
\nunder the executive's authority, but the President is not part of
\nthe National Police,\" he told reporters, after speaking in a
\nseminar at Yogyakarta-based Muhammadiyah University on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He praised Bimantoro's tough resistance to the President's
\npressure, arguing that the stance taken by Bimantoro was
\ncurrently important to preserve the independence of the National
\nPolice from politics.<\/p>\n
Jimly reminded the National Police top officers of the
\nimportance of maintaining the organization's unity, despite the
\ndispute between the President and Bimantoro, saying that disunity
\nwithin the National Police could cause the country to be in a
\nstate of social disorder, with a consequent rapid growth in
\ncrime.<\/p>\n
He also suggested the government should quickly appoint a new
\nNational Police chief after consulting with the DPR over the
\nappointment. (tso\/44\/ylt)<\/p>",
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