City unable to guarantee security during campaign

City unable to guarantee security during campaign

JAKARTA (JP): Authorities have said they are unable to
guarantee the security of the city during the upcoming campaign
period and the June 7 general election.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and City Military Commander Maj.
Gen. Djadja Suparman told businesspeople and executives from
political parties at a gathering at City Hall, security personnel
were limited in comparison to the large coverage area and the
number of supporters joining party campaigns.

"It will be very difficult for us to guarantee that something
(bad) won't happen (during the campaign period) because all of us
are just human beings... But most certainly we will do our best
to guard the city," Sutiyoso said on Wednesday night.

A similar view was expressed by Djadja: "We can't give you a
guarantee of the city's security."

Due to the limited availability of security officers, both
Sutiyoso and Djadja called for the participation of the public in
safeguarding the city.

"By our togetherness we can guarantee safety," Djadja said in
answer to questions raised by members of the Jakarta chapter of
the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Jakarta).

The possibility of riots prior and during the polling period
has forced owners of shopping complexes, banks and other
businesses to install high fences and barbed wire around their
buildings.

There are reports that scores of rich people, mostly Chinese-
Indonesians -- whose number, according to Kadin Jakarta's
chairman Pungky Bambang Purwadi, has reached 25,000 -- have left
the country to avoid possible riots.

Chinese-Indonesians have been the target of recent riots, most
notably during last year's May riots in the city. According to
the National Commission on Human Rights, at least 1,188 people
died and thousands of shops, vehicles and homes were attacked,
burned and looted during the chaos.

Sutiyoso said peoples' fears were baseless.

"Such an action (leaving the country) shows their lack of
nationalistic spirit," he said.

On Tuesday, Jakarta Police chief of the center of operations
and control Soenarko D.A., said 62,532 security officers would be
deployed to safeguard campaign activities and the polls. That
number will be backed up by 39,952 members of the People's
Security civilian force.

The campaign activities are scheduled to start on May 19 and
end on June 4.

Another 1,600 police officers would be ordered to stand by at
city police headquarters and 10,000 additional soldiers would be
on standby at city military headquarters, he said.

Under the deployment order, the security personnel would be
posted mainly at business centers, presidential palace areas and
housing complexes, he said.

Soenarko said city police would prohibit party supporters from
entering streets prone to possible clashes, such as shopping
complexes or main thoroughfares.

Soenarko also said activities likely to attract a large
turnout, such as music performances, would be restricted 10 to
seven days before the campaign period. (ind)