1,000 police prepared for Independence Cup

JAKARTA (JP): Some 1,000 police officers will be on duty at Senayan Stadium from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 for the 2000 Independence Cup, Central Jakarta Police chief Supt. Adjie Rustam Ramdja said on Friday.

Adjie told a media briefing on Friday that the police had also made preparations to prevent supporters from invading the pitch -- a common occurrence at domestic football matches.

"We assure the public that there will be no spectators on the pitch. We will deploy officers to secure the area. People with no particular interest will not be able to enter the area. Security officers and organizers have all agreed on this scheme."

Adjie said that police were also being deployed to guard the ticket booths.

The foreign teams -- Chinese Taipei, Iraq and Myanmar -- will be escorted from Soekarno-Hatta international airport when they arrive on Saturday.

"We will guard them on the way to and from the airport and during their stay in Jakarta."

He said security during the tournament would rely mostly on the public's awareness of the rules of the game.

"I hope that all people will understand the rules of the game."

"I can not assure that 1,000 officers are enough to secure the tournament. If 20,000 spectators refuse to behave themselves, we will have big problems."

"But I'm sure that the spectators are more polite now. Besides, the competitors are mostly foreigners so I think there will not be many fanatical supporters, except the Indonesians," he said.

Chairman of the tournament organizing committee, Ismet D. Tahir, said that four countries, including Australia, South Korea and the United States, had turned down offers to play in the event, which is being staged again after a 15-year gap.

"The countries have their own competition agendas. This is a valuable lesson for us. Next time we should invite countries for the Independence Cup 10 months before the event at the latest," he said. (ivy)