Gatherings still need permit: Police<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman
\nAstrosemitro yesterday defended the policy of requiring people to
\nobtain a police permit for any gathering, saying that it is
\ndesigned to prevent untoward incidents.<\/p>\n
\"We don't want a fire to happen without having taken proper
\nprecautions beforehand,\" he said during a hearing with Commission
\nI of the House of Representatives, which deals with security
\naffairs, yesterday.<\/p>\n
He was responding to suggestions by scholars and politicians
\nthat rather than barring people from gathering on the grounds of
\nsecurity, police should take action only if such gatherings get
\nout of control.<\/p>\n
\"We don't want the Malari incident of 1974 and the prolonged
\ndisputes in the Batak Toba Protestant Church (HKBP) to happen
\nagain,\" Banurusman said.<\/p>\n
The Malari incident was a massive riot in Jakarta in January
\n1974 that had its origins as student anti-government
\ndemonstrations which got out of control and turned into a carnage
\nof looting and arson of some of the capital's shopping centers.<\/p>\n
The HKBP dispute is a more current event in which conflicting
\ncamps of the church have been locked in clashes, sometimes
\nphysically.<\/p>\n
During the hearing yesterday, legislator Marcel Beding of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party, urged the authorities to abolish the
\npolicy of requiring people to obtain police permits every time
\nthey want to hold a gathering.<\/p>\n
Marcel said the authorities should not ban a proposed public
\ngathering if it had not occurred yet. \"If the meeting is later
\nfound to be in violation of the law, the organizers or the
\nspeakers could be charged with criminal articles of the Criminal
\nCode,\" he said.<\/p>\n
By law, any gathering involving more than five people must
\nhave a permit from the authorities. Police have, in the past,
\nturned down a number of requests for permission to hold seminars,
\npublic debates and even cultural performances, on the grounds
\nthat they had the potential to undermine national stability.
\nThere have also been occasions where police have broken up
\ngatherings that were being held without permits.<\/p>\n
Banurusman said the police is the final agency that issues the
\npermits but they are coordinating with other government agencies
\non the issue.<\/p>\n
He said police work with the State Intelligence Coordinating
\nBody in considering a gathering which involves foreign speakers
\nand with the Armed Forces Intelligence Body for domestic
\nspeakers, and the Indonesian Council of Ulemas for religious
\ngatherings.<\/p>\n
Police have to be very careful in issuing a permit for a
\npublic gathering as it holds the responsibility for the security
\nof the gathering. But if organizers of a gathering meet all the
\nrequirements, then there is no reason for the police not to issue
\na permit, he added.<\/p>\n
The government has announced that it is currently reviewing
\nthe policy regulating gathering permits. (imn)<\/p>",
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