Armed Forces ready to secure general election
Armed Forces ready to secure general election
JAKARTA (JP): The National Police, with the support of the
Army, Navy, Air Force and civilian defense units, is ready to
secure next month's general election, the Armed Forces spokesman,
Brig. Gen. Slamet Supriyadi, said Saturday.
"Technically and mentally, we are ready," Supriyadi told The
Jakarta Post.
All four military forces and civilian defense units have
declared their readiness to ensure that the general election will
proceed smoothly.
Supriyadi said that about 250,000 police and members of
civilian defense units and about 60,000 personnel from the Army,
Air Force and Navy would be deployed across the country during
campaigning and balloting.
More than 124 million Indonesians are eligible to vote in this
year's election, the seventh since the country's independence in
1945. The Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP), the
dominant Golkar and the Christian-Nationalist Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) will contest the election.
The PPP, Golkar and the PDI will vie for 425 of the 500 seats
in the House of Representatives. The remaining 75 seats are
reserved for the Armed Forces, whose members do not vote.
President Soeharto called earlier this month for the Armed
Forces to prepare well to safeguard the election.
"The general election is a channel for people to express their
political wishes. Therefore, an optimal effort is necessary to
make sure that there are no obstacles, no disturbances and no
threats by anyone for any reason to foil the election," Soeharto
told top military staff after the armed forces leadership meeting
on April 4.
Supriyadi said Saturday that Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen.
Feisal Tanjung was touring regional police and military forces
nationwide.
Early last week, Feisal urged officers to ignore provocation
and exercise restraint while securing the election.
"All ABRI members should be able to control themselves, remain
patient and do their jobs wisely," Antara quoted him as saying
Thursday in Medan, North Sumatra.
He said that, if officers could not control their emotions,
those opposing the general election would use it to taint the
election's validity.
But Feisal told the soldiers to do everything necessary to
stop people violating electoral laws.
Street rallies
Supriyadi reiterated his earlier statement that the
authorities would not hesitate to take tough action if supporters
of the overthrown PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri went back to
the streets.
"ABRI won't have any hesitation and will deal with groups
seeking to foil the general election. The Armed Forces have
pledged to make the poll a success," he said.
Thousands of Megawati supporters took to the streets last
Tuesday, demanding representation in the May 29 general election.
Megawati lost the party's chair to Soerjadi in a government-
backed PDI congress in Medan last year and has been barred from
running in the election.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Megawati loyalists
plan to hold another large demonstration in the capital next week
before the election campaign kicks off. (imn)