Farmers stage anti-sweeping rally

Farmers stage anti-sweeping rally

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid growing anti-American sentiment in some parts of the
country, some 400 farmers from Bali's Pacung Baturiti village
staged a rally in front of the provincial legislative council
building on Thursday to protest any action against foreigners
visiting Indonesia's world-renowned tourist island.

"The drop in the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali in
the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center
coupled with a rumored witch-hunt against foreigners has
inevitably had an impact on the income of local farmers, who also
earn a lot from the tourist industry," rally coordinator I Wayan
Sardjana was quoted by Antara as saying on Thursday.

Thus, to revive the local tourism industry, people should not
start hunting for foreigners either in Bali or other parts of the
country, he said.

The protesting farmers, who were wearing traditional clothes,
said they opposed all kinds of terrorist acts in all parts of the
world as they would only hurt people.

They also asked security authorities to take firm action
against persons found launching witch-hunts for foreign tourists
visiting Bali.

He said the local farmers were ready to act as the spearhead
to help security authorities take action against those found
launching a sweep for foreigners.

He said all residents of Pacung village supported the
statement made by the governor of Bali opposing a sweep of
foreigners on the island and guaranteeing security on the island
as one of the world's main tourist destinations.

Responding to the farmers' demands, Bali's provincial
legislative assembly chairman Ida Bagus Putu Wesnawa said his
side was ready to recommend that the security authorities take
firm action against those launching any form of searches for
foreigners.

"Bali, whose population mostly relies on the tourism sector,
does not want to see anything disrupting the safety and security
of tourists," he said.

In Manado, capital of North Sulawesi province, the police have
deployed personnel to areas where expatriates reside in the
province.

The chief of the Command and Operations Control Center of the
North Sulawesi Police, Sr. Comr. Suharijono, told The Jakarta
Post on Thursday that they had actually been giving protection to
expatriates living in the province even before the National
Police issued an order to do so on Oct. 7. "We took the
initiative when we learned that the U.S. had decided to act on
Afghanistan," he said.

"The first order from the National Police was to protect
Americans, but now it has been extended to also giving protection
to Australians, Britons, the Dutch, Belgians, the French, Swedes
and Canadians," Suharijono said.

Foreigners mostly live or work at gold mining company PT
Newmont Minahasa Raya in Ratatotok, PT Tarsius in Bitung, the
Minahasa Masehi Injili Church Foundation in Tomohon and Klabat
University in Airmadidi.

"For Newmont alone, we have assigned two Mobile Brigade
platoons," he added.

He did not remember the number of expats living in the
province, but said there were 25 Americans working there.

In Malang police said they remained alert in anticipation of
all possibilities that could endanger the safety of expatriates,
particularly Americans, following the spread of anti-U.S.
protests.

Malang Police chief Sr. Comr. Supardi said on Thursday that
the police had been collecting data on foreigners who lived in
Malang, Pasuruan, Probolinggo and Lumajang regencies -- all of
which came under the jurisdiction of the Malang Police.

Supardi urged all companies in those regencies that employed
foreigners to report regularly to the police for security
reasons.

He disclosed that a total of 497 expatriates were working in
Malang and other regencies under the Malang Police's jurisdiction
between Aug. 10 and Sept. 30, 2001. They came from the U.S.,
Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, China and Malaysia.

In the West Java town of Cirebon, more than 200 people from 13
community and student organizations took to the streets to
condemn the U.S-led attacks on Afghanistan. They were tightly
guarded by the police.

Grouped under the Anti-American Community Movement (Gamas),
the protesters also demanded a boycott of American products and
denounced President Megawati Soekarnoputri for her "unclear"
stance on the Afghan attacks. They urged the government to cut
diplomatic ties with the super power.

Rally coordinator M. Galib Subhan said in a written statement
that they were for the sending of what they called jihad
volunteers to Afghanistan as a show of their solidarity with the
plight of the Afghans.

"The attacks on Afghanistan constitute a war against Muslims.
The U.S., which claims to be the world's policeman, continues to
display its arrogance. This must be stopped," he said.

On Megawati, they said that the President had only expressed
concern over the attacks "without any concrete action to stop the
U.S.-led attacks."