Four day nonstop watch on PDI office

JAKARTA (JP): Many police officers, who on Saturday entered into their fourth day of guarding the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), said they hope they could go home even only to change.

An officer of the City Police mobile brigade said 200 of them have not been home since Wednesday.

"Hopefully we can go home today at least to change our clothes," Second Lt. Amin (not his real name) said near the headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro on Saturday, his collar black with dust and sweat.

Officers have to buy toothbrushes and share toothpaste to the last squeeze, his colleague said.

"We don't get extra money for guarding political events," he said.

The policemen were deployed ever since the first day of the Party's long march from the headquarters to the National Monument Square. Then they stayed on for the second day, Thursday, when marchers clashed with security officers and then further on, on Saturday, when tensions have calmed down.

Officers still have to stand by in anticipation of another incident, they said.

More tensions were expected later that day when the Party congress held by breakaway Party executives in Medan, North Sumatra, announced a new central board.

Amin said the non-stop task is an exception. Several events that require security have gone on simultaneously, thus spreading the 1,000-strong mobile brigade force thin. Apart from the demonstrations and rallies of the Indonesian Democratic Party, there are the Indonesian Air Show at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng and the Jakarta Fair in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

Dogs and horses

Anti-riot police personnel, however, are changed every day as a lesser part of their forces are on assignment.

German shepherds, horses and their officers and trainers also change shifts daily, arriving from their training center in Kelapa Dua, Depok.

Spread along side streets around the PDI headquarters, the security officers spent the uncertain waiting period chatting, sleeping in their vehicles, on the pavement, and on the grass median, and reading newspapers like the demonstrators.

Some bought cool snacks from vendors and others strolled down to the nearby and full of antiques Jl. Surabaya, Central Jakarta.

In response to how do officers feel when they have to hit demonstrators, Amin said he resented the generalization.

"If I hadn't helped a journalist and a top PDI member they could have been worse," he said. His colleague said the journalist and the party executive felt victims to other security officers who saw their friends hurt by flying stones.

"We are trained to refrain from physical action as long as possible," Amin said. "We have to try to persuade the crowd by pushing it back" before receiving specific orders to act further.

"We were called dogs and were spat on but we remained patient," Amin said.

Dozens of demonstrators were hurt in Thursday's riot, but police and military officers also had their share of victims.

Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso said demonstrators went beyond tolerable limits and provoked the officers. (anr)