Hamami warns political protesters<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City Police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata
\nyesterday vowed to take stern action against any groups
\nprotesting for political purposes.<\/p>\n
\"If a demonstration seems to have a political motive behind
\nit, we will charge them (protesters) based on Law No. 5\/1969
\nwhich upgraded president decision No. 5\/1963 on political
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
\"The law carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail,\"
\nHamami said after overseeing a city police drill to control
\ntraffic routes and parking sites for next month's General Session
\nof the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
The two-star general believed that the latest demonstration in
\nJakarta on Feb. 11 conducted by a group calling themselves
\nBarisan Merah-Putih (Red-and-White Front) was politically
\nmotivated.<\/p>\n
\"(If they did not have a political motive), why would they
\nname themselves Barisan Merah-Putih? We're all Merah-Putih,
\naren't we?\" he asked reporters, referring to the color of the
\nnational flag.<\/p>\n
Hamami said police continued to hold 128 protesters out of 157
\ndetained from the demonstration.<\/p>\n
The authorities are planning to charge them for violating
\nlaws, he said.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people marched from the Attorney General's office
\nin the Blok M business district to the Ministry of Manpower on
\nJl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta, protesting against the
\nsoaring prices of food and other goods and services.<\/p>\n
The demonstration caused heavy traffic congestion on major
\nstreets in South Jakarta. The demonstrators were believed to be
\nsupporters of the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty, Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
According to Hamami, people who stage protests demanding a
\nwage hike would be punished under a different law.<\/p>\n
City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang was quoted by
\nAntara as saying yesterday that police have already blockaded the
\ncapital from potential rioters coming from outside of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"No rioters will be able to enter Jakarta because police
\nofficers, deployed on the borders of the city, would block them
\nfrom any move to disturb the city,\" Aritonang said.<\/p>\n
He said the police officers deployed on the city's outskirts,
\nsuch as Bekasi, Tangerang and Depok include those from the
\nNational Police force. (jun)<\/p>",
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