City authorities accused of glossing over security

JAKARTA (JP): Party officials expressed concern on Saturday over recent statements made by city authorities, in which they devolved responsibility for maintaining security during the upcoming campaign activities and the general election.

The officials were responding to statements made by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and City Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman, who said on Thursday they were unable to guarantee the security of the city.

"It is obligatory for the security personnel to prevent all occasions from developing into chaos during campaign activities," said Alim Halim, chairman of the Golkar Party's Central Jakarta branch. He made the comment on the sidelines of a meeting between representatives of political parties eligible to take part in the elections and Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah.

The meeting, held at the Central Jakarta mayoralty office, mainly discussing strategies for the prevention of unrest during campaign activities, which will start on May 19.

Alim Halim acknowledged it was a responsibility of all parties to restrain their supporters during the campaigns and that "the duty of security personnel is more to maintain security in the city".

Alim said the limited number of security personnel was the reason authorities had said they could not guarantee safety in the capital.

Instead, he urged the authorities to consider how to deploy the limited number of personnel efficiently.

Chairman of the Central Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Dadang Hamdani, said security personnel should not overact when they supervised party rallies during the campaign.

"That overacting attitude will only cause supporters to be more brutal ... it may spark useless clashes between security personnel and supporters," Dadang said.

Eddy S. Djalal, the chairman of the National Mandate Party's Central Jakarta branch, said his party was ready to prevent its supporters from getting out of hand during the campaign.

"We have recruited about 700 people throughout Central Jakarta to be members of the party's task force in charge of preventing unrest," he said.

The possibility of riots prior to and during the polls has become a major concern for Jakartans. Owners of many banks, shopping centers and buildings have been forced to install high fences, barbed wire and even nets over their buildings in anticipation of possible chaos. (01)