Authorities brace for MPR General Session
JAKARTA (JP): A joint force involving some 30,000 police officers and members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) will soon launch Operation Martabrata VI to safeguard the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) slated for early November, a senior police official said on Friday.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar said the operation would start 45 days before the Assembly's General Session and continue until a month after it ends.
"Security will be tight in Jakarta. We had our first formal meeting on Friday, and representatives from the Army, Air Force and Navy Headquarters were invited to discuss the issue," Togar told The Jakarta Post.
He said those to be deployed in the operation were members from the Army's Special Force (Kopassus), Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Navy's Elite Marine troops and Navy's West Fleet (Armabar), Air Force Operations Command (Koopsau), National Air Defense Command (Kohanudnas) and Air Force Special Troops (Paskhas) and Elite Police Mobile Brigade.
Deputy city police chief Brig. Gen. Sutanto said in early July that 42,300 personnel would be deployed here during the Assembly's General Session.
Separately, Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus said earlier this month that President B.J. Habibie instructed Minister of Defense and Security/TNI Commander Gen. Wiranto and National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi to concentrate troops around the MPR/House of Representatives (DPR) complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Yunus said the President also asked the military chief to deploy troops around the hotels where the 700 MPR members would be staying at during the General Session.
The new DPR/MPR members are scheduled to be inducted on Oct. 1. They will meet again some time early November to elect a new president and vice president, and endorse the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN).
During the MPR Special Session last November, the military deployed about 80,000 troops. They were assisted by about 125,000 armed civilian militiamen (Pamswakarsa), the deployment of which created heated controversy.
As the Special Session got underway on Nov. 13, 1998, armed police and troops opened fire on university students marching to the MPR building.
Twelve people died and 150 others were seriously injured, mostly from gunshot wounds, in a clash at the Semanggi cloverleaf in Jakarta. (ylt)