Govt says campaign must go on<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Despite heightening tension and widespread fears
\nof more violence, the government is allowing the three parties to
\ncontinue campaigning.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. said yesterday he
\nunderstood public worries about further unrest but stressed that
\ncampaigning would not be terminated until the end of the
\nscheduled period on Friday.<\/p>\n
But he said that in the remaining four days the campaigning
\nshould take the form of indoor dialogs and that street rallies
\nwere strictly banned.<\/p>\n
Yogie acknowledged that the recent violence in Jakarta,
\nYogyakarta and several Central Java towns had exceeded the
\ntolerable limit.<\/p>\n
\"It's a mistake to say that the violence was acceptable,\"
\nYogie said in a message relayed to journalists by his spokesman
\nH.S.A Yusacc.<\/p>\n
The minister said the government meant to stick to the
\noriginal consensus with the three contestants, the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP), Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI), that the campaigning period was from April 27 to May
\n23.<\/p>\n
Yogie said no contestant had asked the government to terminate
\nthe campaign.<\/p>\n
Fears of more open conflict among the parties have been
\naggravated after Golkar's street rallies in Jakarta, Yogyakarta
\nand Central Java on Sunday disintegrated into brawls with PPP
\nsupporters.<\/p>\n
Today, the Moslem-backed PPP is scheduled to hold indoor
\nrallies across Java, Maluku and Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
Deployment<\/p>\n
Jakarta PPP chief Rusjdi Hamka said yesterday the party would
\ndeploy more party security personnel to coordinate with the
\npolice and military to secure the PPP's campaigning.<\/p>\n
He said the party was well aware that most of the PPP
\nsupporters would be unlikely to comply with Saturday's agreement
\nto hold only indoor rallies attended a limited number of
\nparticipants.<\/p>\n
\"So I call on all the security personnel, who have been doing
\ntheir jobs extremely well so far, not to let our supporters roam
\nall over the place. Help us guide them to the campaigning sites,\"
\nRusjdi said.<\/p>\n
Most of yesterday's campaigning proceeded without serious
\nincident. PDI supporters reportedly ran riot in the Irian Jaya
\ncapital of Jayapura yesterday. They vandalized buildings and
\nthrew stones at the police after hearing rumors a party supporter
\nhad been shot dead by a police officer.<\/p>\n
PPP deputy chairman Jusuf Syakir said his party rejected any
\ncalls to stop campaigning, arguing the security authorities were
\nin firm control.<\/p>\n
But he agreed that if people wanted a shorter campaigning
\nperiod, the government and the parties should discuss it for the
\nnext election, scheduled for 2002.<\/p>\n
Jusuf said he saw no strong reason why the campaign should be
\nstopped.<\/p>\n
\"I see no anxiety among the people. I see happiness in their
\nfaces,\" he said. \"Of course there are always unwanted aspects to
\nevery game ...\"<\/p>\n
The government's insistence on continuing the campaigning
\nreceived support from the Independent Election Supervision
\nCommittee (KIPP) and an activist of the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights.<\/p>\n
KIPP Secretary-General Mulyana W. Kusumah said that street
\nrallies and indoor dialogs were a good political education for
\nthe public, especially for would-be first-time voters.<\/p>\n
\"Street rallies remain a good method for the parties to
\nattract potential voters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
National Commission on Human Rights member Muladi said in
\nSemarang yesterday that indoor dialogs should continue otherwise
\npeople who wanted to see the election fail would have won.<\/p>\n
Muladi, who is also rector of the Semarang-based Diponegoro
\nUniversity, said he believed the unrest in various areas had been
\ntriggered by interest groups wanting to topple President Soeharto
\nunconstitutionally.<\/p>\n
\"I believe the groups do exist. I have seen anonymous leaflets
\ncirculating on campuses and other public places -- all suggesting
\nthat such a plot is real,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang refused
\nyesterday to give details on the number of victims or violations
\nthat had occurred during the latest three days of campaigning.<\/p>\n
\"Let's support the three organizations' commitment to cool
\ndown. Let's not expose the number of violations committed by each
\nor all the three organizations,\" Aritonang said.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the Police's preparations for today's
\ncampaigning in Jakarta, Aritonang said the City Police would not
\nreduce the number of its personnel on the streets. Ten thousand
\npolicemen have been deployed in Jakarta to safeguard the
\ncampaign. (imn\/aan\/nur\/cst\/ste\/38\/har)<\/p>\n
Effectiveness -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-says-campaign-must-go-on-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }