Police chief warns against mass rally<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): National Police chief Lt. Gen.
\nRusdihardjo warned members of the political elite on Wednesday
\nagainst staging politically motivated mass rallies which might
\nlead to chaos and violence prior to the coming People's
\nConsultative Assembly General Session.<\/p>\n
Responding to journalists' questions on recent mass
\ndeployments, such as Laskar Jihad, Rusdihardjo said that mass
\ndeployment would be all right \"as long as it is not destructive
\nand hazardous to others, and still respects others' freedom\".<\/p>\n
Rusdihardjo was in Bali to open a seminar on The Enforcement
\nof Intellectual Rights at the Holiday Hotel Inn in Kuta.<\/p>\n
\"I believe a mass rally will still happen,\" he said, adding
\nthat such a move was an expression of democracy.<\/p>\n
He said he could not predict what political groups would use
\nmass rallies in their maneuvers. \"All political groups may do
\nthat.\"<\/p>\n
\"Moreover, street demonstrations have likely become a
\nprofession to many. There is a company doing a mass deployment
\nbusiness. The people who are recruited are paid. The wage varies
\ndepending on the length of the demonstration and the service the
\nparticipant does during the demo. This is a fact,\" said
\nRusdihardjo.<\/p>\n
The three-star police general said, however, that in general
\nthe security in the country was conducive ahead of the General
\nSession scheduled for August.<\/p>\n
He said that the police had anticipated facing demonstrators.
\n\"They are our brothers. Any actions must be conducted based on
\nstandard procedures.\"<\/p>\n
He said he preferred persuasive steps in handling mass rally-
\nrelated problems, citing the successful approach made by the
\nBogor Police when asking Laskar Jihad to vacate their training
\ncamp in Bogor.<\/p>\n
Speaking of law enforcement of intellectual rights violations,
\nhe said Indonesia was still weak in that matter. \"Knowledge and
\nunderstanding about intellectual rights among police officers is
\nstill poor.\"<\/p>\n
So far Indonesian Police have had 100 officers participate in
\nan international course on intellectual rights.<\/p>\n
Police records indicate there were 223 intellectual rights
\nviolations last year, 258 in 1998 and 409 in 1997. \"There is a
\ntrend of it declining,\" he said. (zen\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-chief-warns-against-mass-rally-1447893297",
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