Council closed, councillors in closed session in Puncak

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council remained closed on Friday as all 85 councillors continued closed-door meetings at city-owned resort hotel Wisma Jaya Raya in the Puncak area, Bogor, to discuss Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech.

The council's five commission rooms, usually used to receive protesters and guests were locked. Fortunately there were no rallies on Friday.

The political parties' faction rooms on the third and fourth floors of the council building were only occupied by a few employees. Some were completely empty.

The council's secretariat on the second floor and the council's public relations office were also closed.

It was a similar situation earlier on Thursday as councillors started the two-day meeting.

Former councillor Nitra Arsyad said the council building should not have been completely vacated.

"In my era, there were always one or two councillors waiting here," Nitra of Golkar Party told reporters.

He was sure that not all the 85 councillors were actively participating in the meeting in Puncak, thus some should have been in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, activist Azas Tigor Nainggolan regretted the councillors's decision to hold meetings outside the council building, instead of using their own facilities.

"I think the council building has good facilities, such as air-conditioning which could make the building as cold as in the Puncak area," Tigor remarked.

He also deplored the vacant council building, warning that no one was left to accommodate rallies if one were to occur.

He said by using a city-owned hotel, it might create the assumption that councillors would no longer question Sutiyoso's accountability.

"So the governor's accountability will automatically be accepted because council members have been meeting with city officials in Puncak," he said. (jun)