Peaceful sphere vital during Session: Betawi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): About 1,000 members of Masyarakat Betawi (Native
\nJakartans) staged a peaceful rally in front of Hotel Indonesia on
\nSunday calling for peace and calm during the General Session of
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
The protesters marched from the Semanggi cloverleaf to the
\nHotel Indonesia roundabout at about 3 p.m. They chanted Allahu
\nAkbar (Allah the Great) and Shalawat (pray for Prophet Muhammad)
\non the way to Hotel Indonesia, which drew the attention of
\npassersby.<\/p>\n
Arriving at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout at 4.15 p.m., they
\nunfurled posters and banners rejecting all forms of violence
\ncommitted by parties pursuing political interests. "The Betawi
\ndon't want Jakarta to be shattered with blood," read one banner.<\/p>\n
"We are here to show that the Betawi are peace lovers. We will
\nexpel provocateurs who try to steer Jakarta into chaos," Habib
\nUmar Al Hamid, the rally coordinator, announced before the
\nprotesters.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of police personnel stood guard, along with some
\nsecurity members of the Betawi group, inside the Hotel Indonesia
\ncompound. The hotel is hosting some of the MPR members.<\/p>\n
Scores of security personnel, grouped under the Tanah Abang
\nBig Family Union (IKBT), guarded the protesters.<\/p>\n
Yusuf Mu'i, the IKBT chairman, said the group shared similar
\nconcern with the protesters in bringing peace to Jakarta during
\nthe General Session.<\/p>\n
The 700-member MPR is set to elect a new president on Oct. 20,
\nan agenda with a potential risk of conflict among supporters of
\neach presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
A female protester, Aziz Fachiah, called on students to stay
\naway from violent protests in a bid to create a peaceful
\ncondition during the MPR General Session.<\/p>\n
"We should use our logic in airing our demands instead of
\nviolence," Aziz, a student at Islamic University As Syafi'iyah in
\nSouth Jakarta, said.<\/p>\n
In a statement made available to the media, protesters urged
\nthe city's security authority to take stern measures to curb
\nprovocateurs and rioters which might disrupt peace and order in
\nthe city.<\/p>\n
The protesters dispersed peacefully after a half hour rally.<\/p>\n
Fact-finding<\/p>\n
Separately, a fact-finding team probing the violent Sept. 24
\nincident said on Sunday that security personnel unintentionally
\nshot into the crowd as earlier claimed.<\/p>\n
"The bullet did not directly enter the victim, Yap Yun Hap. It
\nbounced off a wall or an iron bar before hitting the victim's
\nbody," said Dadan Umar Daihani, the secretary of the team, in a
\nmedia conference at Kedai Tempo in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"The bullet did not deeply penetrate in a vertical direction
\ninto Yun Hap's body," he said.<\/p>\n
Dadan said the bullet penetrated the victim as he went in the
\nopposite direction of some moving trucks carrying security
\npersonnel on Jl. Jend. Sudirman on Friday night, Sept. 24. He was
\ntrying to avoid bullets allegedly fired by security personnel in
\na random shooting.<\/p>\n
In a previous media conference, the coordinator of the team,
\npolitical researcher Hermawan Sulistyo, said two convoys of
\nbetween seven and eight trucks carrying security personnel passed
\nalong the street some 10 minutes apart. He added that the
\nshooting which took the life of Yun Hap, a University of
\nIndonesia student, happened as the first convoy passed. The
\nlocation of the shooting was at the tip of Jl. Garnizun, an area
\nbetween Plaza Central and Atma Jaya University on the main road
\nof Jl. Jend. Sudirman in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The shooting, which claimed at least six lives, was held a day
\nafter students conducted a mass rally to reject the state
\nsecurity bill which was agreed by the House of Representatives
\nmembers to be passed as a law. (asa)<\/p>",
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