Gen. Moetojib wants campaigns changed

JAKARTA (JP): Mass rallies will have to be abandoned in future election campaigns because they turn violent too easily, State Intelligence Chief Lt. Gen. Moetojib said yesterday.

Moetojib said mass rallies were difficult to control and an easy target for interest groups wanting to achieve their political agendas by violent means.

"We think the election campaign should be redesigned in the future," he told journalists after meeting with President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace.

Moetojib said numerous cases of mob violence broke out during the recent campaign when organizers failed to control the masses.

"We should not repeat the same mistake in the future," he said.

According to independent observers the April 27 - May 23 election campaign was the most violent in Indonesia's election history.

The most tragic incident occurred on the last day of campaigning in the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin when 123 people trapped in a plaza were burned to death.

Destroyed or damaged in the riots were hundreds of shops, houses, vehicles, churches, schools, buildings, a Buddhist temple and a rest home.

Moetojib said interest groups and certain non-governmental organizations trying to destabilize the government were behind the unrest.

Moetojib said "problematic NGOs" had obviously failed to persuade people to boycott the May 29 election because more than 90 percent voted.

He said they wanted to change the current political system by exaggerating the government's shortcomings.

"Their number is small but they have big mouths," Moetojib said.

Last month the Armed Forces Sociopolitical Affairs Chief Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid accused the Democratic People's Party (PRD) of orchestrating the campaign violence.

Nine PRD leaders have been jailed on subversion charges.

Antigovernment elements continued circulating leaflets as part of their effort to discredit the government, Moetojib said.

The intelligence chief said the recent unrest stemmed from dissatisfaction with the current system, tension between different groups in society, and the use of violence by interest groups to achieve their goals.

One way to avoid more violence, Moetojib said, would be for every citizen to refrain from resorting to violence and to refuse to use violence to solve problems.

"If people already know that riots have been engineered by interest groups or individuals, then they should refuse to get involved in irresponsible acts," he said. (06)