Govt to set up special task force to handle riots

JAKARTA (JP): In the face of increasing lawlessness, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto said the government would soon set up a special task force to prevent violence and to handle any future outbreaks that do occur.

"The task force, with members from numerous departments and agencies, will take preventive action, including repressive steps" in riots and other incidents of violence, he said after presiding over an Armed Forces (ABRI) leadership meeting here on Saturday.

"The idea to establish the special task force has much to do with the rampant riots, which have created a common feeling of fear among the people," Wiranto said.

Prolonged lawlessness "would disrupt the process of reform and the recovery of the nation's many problems," he added. The task force would also help to investigate motives and instigators behind riots, he said.

The measure was a follow-up to Wiranto's instruction to security personnel, specifically police, to take firm action against law breakers.

Wiranto said the task force was set up because law enforcers at the local level had too much on their hands to also have to deal with the increasingly common riots.

Chief of ABRI Military Police Maj. Gen. Djasri said the special task force would include personnel from the Army, Military Police, National Police and government prosecutors.

It would also include troops directed to secure strategic facilities.

"The riots have much to do with the misperception of reform that certain groups of people have; as if they are now free to do anything they want," Wiranto said, saying many people have disregarded the law.

He mentioned that people were now even attacking law enforcers, referring to several separate reports of assault against police officers and facilities.

The general insisted that ABRI would take strict action, including the shooting on sight of individuals or groups who were found to be inciting others to damage property or attack people.

"The instruction will be applied across the country, particularly in areas vulnerable to disobedience," he said.

He appealed to people to resist provocation by irresponsible parties and to inform nearby police and military posts of anyone attempting to incite unrest.

"Security matters are a common responsibility" shared between security forces and the public, he said.

Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar separately announced developments of cases of mass violence being handled by police. In East Java, of the 265 cases filed relating to the murder spree which has claimed around 200 lives in Banyuwangi and other regencies, there are 448 suspects, of which 12 have been sentenced and 72 others were still being tried by the courts, he said.

In Ketapang, Jakarta, the police arrested 11 suspects in the burning of a church and several mosques last December, and three are being tried, he said.

In Kupang, West Nusa Tenggara, 61 suspects have been charged with inciting the burning of homes and mosques and looting. Several defendants have been brought to court while others are still undergoing investigation.

In Ambon, Maluku, where police said 95 people were killed, mostly in the capital last month, 81 people have been charged, with crimes including murder, looting, provocation and theft. Police are still investigating more than 100 suspects relating to the incidents, the general said. (rms)