Only 4,000 people attend 'peaceful poll' gathering<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Some 4,000 people, including housewives and
\nchildren, attended a gathering to promote a peaceful general
\nelection at the 110,000-seat Senayan soccer stadium in Central
\nJakarta on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
The number of attendees, mostly attired in sports apparel,
\nappeared to be fewer than it was due to the vastness of the
\nstadium, which has a more than 110,000-person capacity.<\/p>\n
Most of the participants in the gathering, called "Indonesian
\nFamilies for a Peaceful Poll", were couples and their children
\nwho had just completed their weekly jog around the sports
\ncomplex.<\/p>\n
The corners of the stadium were covered with large banners
\ncarrying messages in black writing. Some of them read: "Let's
\nPrevent Violence" and "Peaceful Poll '99."<\/p>\n
The three-hour gathering, which started at 8 a.m., was held by
\nyoung professionals, such as political analyst Eep Saefulloh
\nFatah and an executive of SCTV television station, Riza Primadi,
\nand NGO activists.<\/p>\n
No incidents occurred in the meeting, which was secured by
\ndozens of soldiers and People's Security (Kamra) civilian
\nmilitia.<\/p>\n
Led by comedian Deddy Gumelar, popularly known as Mi'ing from
\nthe Bagito group, the gathering featured poetry recitals, music
\nand scenes from the popular television drama Si Doel Anak
\nSekolahan.<\/p>\n
Some entertainers performing on the 10 meter by five meter
\nstage were noted poets W.S. Rendra and Taufik Abdullah, six-year-
\nold singer and millionaire Joshua, and the TV drama's stars
\nMandra, Basuki and Cornelia Agatha.<\/p>\n
Out of the 48 political parties invited by the organizers,
\nonly 15 of them sent representatives to the gathering.<\/p>\n
Big audience<\/p>\n
The organizers earlier boasted that the gathering would
\nattract some 20,000 people.<\/p>\n
"We're not aiming for a big audience. The most important thing
\nis that our message will reach the public," Eep Saefulloh,
\nchairman of the organizing committee, said.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Joshua read a petition titled "Hope of
\nIndonesian Families", calling for the 48 parties contesting the
\nJune 7 general election and all poll monitoring bodies to be just
\nand fair.<\/p>\n
The petition also asked the political parties and the
\nmonitoring bodies to do their utmost to avoid clashes between
\nparty supporters during the campaign period and on voting day.<\/p>\n
In response to the calls, representatives of the 15 parties,
\nwho mostly wore no party attributes, vowed to meet the requests.<\/p>\n
"The petition is hopefully to be signed by representatives of
\nall parties as well as many Indonesian families," Eep Saefulloh
\nsaid on the sidelines of the meeting.<\/p>\n
According Eep Saefulloh, thousands of Indonesian families had
\nalready signed the petition directly or through facsimile and
\nexecutives of 39 political parties had voiced commitment to
\nsigning the petition.<\/p>\n
"The petition will be handed over to the General Elections
\nCommission (KPU), the police and the central government on May
\n18," he said.<\/p>\n
The campaign period will officially start on May 19 across the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Eep Saefulloh said the gathering was designed as a medium to
\narticulate Indonesian families' concern of possible clashes or
\nuproar during the campaign period and on voting day.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
The meeting, he said, would be followed by simultaneous
\nadvertisements through print and broadcast media.<\/p>\n
The activities have been financed by several donors, including
\nindividuals and groups, Eep Saefulloh added.<\/p>\n
The United Nations Development Program, for instance, donated
\nUS$10,000 (about Rp 80 million) to the organizers.<\/p>\n
"This gathering alone cost Rp 330 million," he said.<\/p>\n
"We'll continue to run this antiviolence campaign even after
\nthe general election," he said.<\/p>\n
Most families attending the Sunday gathering expressed hope
\nthat the upcoming polls would see no rioting.<\/p>\n
"I hope there will be no riots during the poll. I'm afraid the
\nprice of basic needs will go up further should riots be ignited
\nagain," said Eva, a housewife living in Kebayoran Baru, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
She said she had no purpose in joining the gathering with her
\nsister, she just happened to be in there jogging around the
\nsports complex.<\/p>\n
Housewife Rusti of Pluit Dalam in North Jakarta said she and
\nher two children went to the complex specifically to attend the
\nmeeting after reading an advertisement on it in a newspaper.<\/p>\n
"It's the artists that lured us here, but I also understand
\nthe importance of the meeting," said Rusti.<\/p>\n
Jobless Iswahyudi of Petamburan, Central Jakarta, strongly
\nhoped that the city would see no mayhem during election
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
"If it's a big success, our country's economy will be better
\nand it will be easy for me to get a job soon," he said.<\/p>\n
Similar gatherings were also held in the West Java capital of
\nBandung and in Yogyakarta on Sunday.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, the "Peaceful Parade for 1999 Polls" involved
\nsupporters of all political parties, which sparked the anger of
\nother participants when members of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) turned up with hundreds of
\nfollowers.<\/p>\n
All parties previously agreed to take part in the parade,
\nkicked off by West Java Governor R. Nuriana, with a maximum of 50
\nsupporters and three vehicles.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan supporters, however, arrived in dozens of
\nheavily packed trucks, cars and motorcycles.<\/p>\n
But no incidents took place.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, about 3,000 people prayed together for a
\npeaceful general election in a mass gathering led by Governor Sri
\nSultan Hamengkubuwono X. (01\/43\/23\/44)<\/p>",
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