Defense council suggests limiting outdoor campaigning

Defense council suggests limiting outdoor campaigning

JAKARTA (JP): The National Council for Defense and Security,
which was recently commissioned by President Soeharto to draw up
new rules for election campaigning, has suggested limiting
outdoor campaign rallies.

Pointing out that campaign rallies often turned violent, the
council's secretary-general, Lt. Gen. (ret) Soekarto, said
yesterday that rallies should still be allowed but with strict
limitations.

The council said that convoys of political supporters on
motorbikes or trucks should be banned, and replaced by public
assemblies for speeches and discussions at sites appointed by
political contestants and the General Elections Institute.

The council also suggested limiting the number of political
supporters that may ride on trucks and motorbikes to and from
campaign venues.

"A truck can only carry 30 passengers, while a motorbike may
carry a maximum of 2 passengers," he said.

"Campaign sessions in past general elections have often been
marked by brutality... violations of the electoral laws. We need
to minimize the possibility of clashes among supporters of the
political contestants," Soekarto said.

Soekarto spoke to reporters after meeting the leaders of the
three political organizations contesting next year's general
election: the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP), the
ruling Golkar and the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI).

Soekarto also suggested that vehicles carrying supporters be
organized in groups with a maximum of ten vehicles.

"The groups of vehicles should move at intervals of three
minutes," he said.

President Soeharto called last month for new regulations on
election campaigning to prevent a repetition past elections'
chaos and violence. He suggested that campaigns should no longer
turn into shows of force.

Soeharto asked the council to draft new regulations on
campaigning for the 1997 general election. The council, made up
of retired military officers, advises the President on state
matters.

So that supporters of one political grouping do not run into
supporters of other groupings, the council suggested zoning areas
for election campaigning.

According to this system, the country would be divided into
six campaign regions, Soekarto said.

Region I is for provinces in Sumatra; region II for provinces
in Java; region III for provinces of Bali, West and East Nusa
Tenggara and East Timor; region IV for provinces in Kalimantan;
region V for provinces in Sulawesi; and region VI for the
provinces of Maluku and Irian Jaya.

Each day during the proposed 27-day campaign period, each
political grouping would campaign in two regions. The council has
prepared a schedule for the rotation of campaign areas.

Soekarto suggested improving the quality of campaigns through
broadcasting discussions and speeches.

Representatives from the three political groupings, including
Tosari Widjaya, Aisyah Aminy and Zarkasih Nur of PPP, Abdul Gafur
and Ibnu Saleh of Golkar and Budi Hardjono and Soedaryanto of PDI
attended yesterday's meeting.

Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the General
Elections Institute, the Agency for Coordinating National Defense
and Stability, the State Intelligence Coordinating Body, the
National Police, the National Institute of Science, the Army
Headquarters and the Ministry of Information also attended the
meeting.

Campaigning is restricted to a 25-day period by electoral law.
Next year campaigning is scheduled to begin on April 29 and end
on May 23. There is normally a cooling-off period of seven days
normally before election day, which is scheduled for the end of
next May.

The National Council for Defense and Security said the
campaign period should last 27 days, with a cooling off period of
five days. (imn)