Officials support Soeharto's call for indoor campaigns<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto's call for reform of the
\nrules on election campaigns received support from senior
\ngovernment and military figures yesterday.<\/p>\n
The support came from Coordinating Minister for Political
\nAffairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman and Armed Forces Chief of
\nSocio-political Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid.<\/p>\n
\"We all want next year's general election to take place
\nwithout disturbances. We don't want violations to mar it,\"
\nSoesilo told reporters after briefing government public relations
\nofficers at the Wisata International Hotel.<\/p>\n
Soeharto has called for new regulations on election
\ncampaigning to prevent any repetitions of the chaos and violence
\nof past elections and suggested that campaigns should no longer
\nbe turned into shows of force by the political organizations
\ncontesting the elections.<\/p>\n
He asked the National Council for Defense and Security to draw
\nup new regulations for the 1997 general election. The council,
\ncomprising retired military officers, advises the President on
\nstate matters.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences has announced that it
\nwill conduct strategic social, political and cultural studies on
\nthe political campaigns during next year's general election.<\/p>\n
The institute's chairman Soefjan Tsauri said that the study
\nwould be used by the government and the National Council for
\nDefense and Security to design policies on the organization of
\ngeneral elections.<\/p>\n
Calls to regulate election campaigns, however, were first
\nvoiced by the ruling political organization Golkar at its
\nleadership meeting in October last year. Golkar officials have
\nsuggested that outdoor rallies be banned and replaced by indoor
\nmeetings, including televised discussions among the candidates
\nrunning for the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the United Development Party Ismail Hasan Metareum
\nhas expressed his objection to the so-called \"dialog campaigning\"
\nsaying that street rallies are an acceptable part of an election.<\/p>\n
Soesilo said that he was certain next year's election will
\nproceed smoothly as long as all contestants stick to the rules of
\nthe game.<\/p>\n
\"Obstacles will only pop up if the new central board of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party fails to consolidate its leadership,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
When asked about threats from some groups in society to
\nboycott the election, Soesilo said that it was the political
\nparties' task to attract people to vote for them.<\/p>\n
Separately, Syarwan said he supports the idea of indoor
\ncampaigns.<\/p>\n
\"Indoor campaigning is the best campaign system as people can
\nintensively participate in the dialog,\" Syarwan told reporters.<\/p>\n
He said that the indoor campaign system is expected to reduce
\nthe possibility of chaos and violence.<\/p>\n
\"Experience has shown that street rallies are often marred by
\nphysical clashes among parties' supporters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung told the
\ngathering of public relations officers that the Indonesian press
\nshould put the interests of the nation above anything else. (imn)<\/p>",
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