Authorities tighten security ahead of soccer finals
Authorities tighten security ahead of soccer finals
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Following bloody clashes among soccer fans inside Bung Karno
stadium on Thursday night, the city police vowed on Friday to
strengthen security around the stadium to safeguard the final
rounds of the Indonesian Soccer League on Sunday.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacoeb said on Friday
that some 2,500 police personnel would be deployed, and they
would be backed up by personnel from the Jakarta Military
Command.
"We don't want to miss a thing, as happened last night. We
will tighten security and add more personnel," Sofjan told
reporters after meeting with chairman of the league organizing
committee Maj. Gen. Sartomo at police headquarters.
At Thursday's soccer matches that ended up with riots, police
deployed 1,800 personnel, who were mostly concentrated inside the
stadium and its vicinity.
Thursday's clashes among soccer fans inside and outside the
stadium injured some 40 people, 12 of whom were still being
treated at a number of hospitals in the city on Friday.
Sofjan said security personnel would not only be concentrated
in the soccer venue and its vicinity but also on the routes
likely to be taken by the soccer fans.
The deployment of security personnel will cover, among other
routes, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Gerbang Pemuda and Jl. Asia Afrika.
Police will also tighten security at the Tanjung Priok sea
port which is believed to be one of the main points of entry and
exit for the supporters.
Sofjan said the police would also coordinate with organizers
in searching supporters about to enter the soccer venue on
Sunday.
The Sunday match will feature Persija and PSM Makassar, and
President Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to attend.
The likelihood of violence, however, is believed to be slim as
supporters of the two teams are not among those normally known
for hooliganism.
Those who ran amok on Thursday night were mostly supporters of
Persebaya Surabaya, which lost 1-2 to host Persija Jakarta. They
used iron arrows, shards of glass and stones to attack Persija
supporters.
These penniless hooligans also behaved badly on Jakarta
streets, extorting money from passersby and hijacking a public
bus.
On their way to Jakarta from Surabaya, they also ran amok
inside Tegal railway station in Central Java early on Thursday
morning when the Gaya Baru train stopped there.
In relation to Thursday's incident in the capital, Sofjan said
20 people were arrested and five of them were released due to
insufficient evidence.
In Central Jakarta, 26 Persebaya supporters were also held by
police as they strayed onto the streets, scratching parked cars
and disrupting passersby. They were released and returned to
their hometown on Friday.