Military vows to foil labor demonstrations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie
\nSjamsoeddin said yesterday that his forces would clamp down hard
\non any workers staging street demonstrations.<\/p>\n
Although he made no direct reference to the planned march by
\nthe Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) tomorrow, Sjafrie
\nsaid the military would foil labor protests and strikes that were
\npolitically motivated.<\/p>\n
\"I have warned them several times already. If they continue, I
\nwill cripple them. Just wait and see,\" he told reporters.<\/p>\n
Sjafrie said that 25,000 military personnel had been deployed
\nin Jakarta to ensure public safety.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone who wishes to disrupt security will confront my
\ntroops. I have given them orders to warn the protesters first,
\nand then cripple them if they have to,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Security in Jakarta has been noticeably strengthened since the
\nweekend, with armed soldiers guarding government offices and
\nmajor intersections.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, organizers of a massive labor rally decided to call
\noff the event off after failing to secure the use of the Salemba
\ncampus from the University of Indonesia administrators.<\/p>\n
SBSI chairman Muchtar Pakpahan remained defiant yesterday,
\nsaying that he would go ahead with his plan to mobilize 10,000
\nworkers onto the streets in Jakarta tomorrow to press ahead with
\nhis demands for President B.J. Habibie to resign.<\/p>\n
Pakpahan, who Habibie released from prison last month after
\nbeing convicted of organizing a riotous labor protest in 1994,
\nsaid he had scaled down the size of the crowd from the 100,000
\noriginally planned due to \"recent developments\".<\/p>\n
He promised a \"peaceful, orderly and non-violent\"
\ndemonstration, which he said was intended to send signals to
\nHabibie and House Speaker Harmoko to convene an extraordinary
\nsession of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) as soon as
\npossible to hand over power to a transitional government.<\/p>\n
Asked about the possibility of violence breaking out, Pakpahan
\nsaid: \"Experience has shown that if the security forces want a
\nstreet demonstration to be peaceful, it will be peaceful.\"<\/p>\n
\"I appeal to the military to secure the safety of
\ndemonstrators,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Pakpahan did not disclose the route which the protesters would
\ntake, but said the National Monument (Monas) park and the House
\nof Representatives building would likely be included in the
\nitinerary.<\/p>\n
Pakpahan underscored the decision of an SBSI working
\nconference last week to hold protests until Habibie resigns or
\nholds a national reconciliation meeting.<\/p>\n
A national reconciliation gathering, he said, would be
\nintended to bring peace to the nation. It should involve all
\ncomponents of the nation; reform leaders, the government,
\nstudents, the Armed Forces and other major organizations.<\/p>\n
He suggested the inclusion of people who were victims of the
\npolitics of the old New Order of former president Soeharto. In
\naddition to himself, Pakpahan said these were Sri Bintang
\nPamungkas, Budiman Sudjatmiko, Nur Hidayat, Jose Alexandre
\n\"Xanana Gusmao\", Ali Sadikin, S.A.E Nababan, Abdurrahman Wahid
\nand Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Such a meeting would precede an MPR extraordinary session
\nwhich would elect a transitional president to organize general
\nelections by June 1999 at the latest, Pakpahan said.<\/p>\n
\"If our proposal is ignored, we will continue and escalate our
\nprotests until Prof. Dr. B.J. Habibie resigns from the
\npresidency. The people will then form a Reform MPR which will
\nelect a transitional government,\" Pakpahan said.<\/p>\n
\"To the people, we apologize if their lives are disrupted (by
\nour action). Trust us that we're doing this for the sake of the
\nunity of the republic... and for the welfare and prosperity of
\nthe people,\" he said. (ivy\/aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/military-vows-to-foil-labor-demonstrations-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}