Gus Dur, Mega discuss security

JAKARTA (JP): Top state officials met here on Wednesday to discuss security ahead of the April 30 House of Representatives (DPR) plenary session, which will decide whether to issue the second memorandum of censure against President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The meeting took place as hundreds of members of the ready-to- die force in East Java were defying police orders to discontinue "war-training" to defend Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur.

"The meeting was to discuss the general security situation ahead of (the DPR plenary session) on April 30," presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said.

"The fact is there has been no violence (so far) and efforts will be taken to prevent any. No one has any interest in conflict."

Wimar was speaking after a luncheon at Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri's official residence in Central Jakarta, which was attended by the President, top military and police officials and key Cabinet ministers.

Abdurrahman's supporters are expected to stream into Jakarta on April 29 to join a mass prayer in support of the President. Police have also asked the event's organizers, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), either to bring forward or delay the prayers for security concerns.

Police in Jakarta have begun weapons checks at entry points to the city in an attempt to prevent violence ahead of the crucial plenary session.

Those arriving at bus terminals, train stations, harbors and main roads would all be checked, a Jakarta police spokesman said earlier in the week.

Jakarta police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman said on Wednesday that around 10,000 police personnel would be deployed to maintain security in the capital city on April 29. The number, he said, could be increased to 18,000 on April 30.

Fears that the President's supporters would also descend upon the DPR building on April 30 had prompted several legislators to call on the House leaders to relocate the plenary session outside the capital.

House speaker Akbar Tandjung flatly dismissed the suggestion on Wednesday, saying that the House plenary session "will stay in Jakarta".

"It did not even cross my mind to hold the plenary session outside the DPR building, let alone outside the capital," Akbar, who also chairs Golkar party, said.

He said that he had written a formal request for a security guarantee to the city police.

Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X said earlier in the day that his city was ready to host the DPR plenary session, should House leaders decide to move it outside the capital.

The proposal to hold the plenary session outside Jakarta was first mooted on Tuesday by Arifin Panigoro, leader of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction at the DPR.

Speaking at the end of a two-day meeting between several legislators critical of Abdurrahman on the resort island of Bali, Arifin said the House plenary could be moved to the West Java capital of Bandung.

He then claimed that at least seven House factions had agreed to issue the second memorandum against Abdurrahman on April 30.

Akbar denied the suggestion, saying that no agreement had been reached between the House factions on whether or not to issue the second memorandum against the President.

He admitted, however, that the mood during the two-day talks in Bali was "moving toward that direction (of issuing the second memorandum)."

"There hasn't been any formal agreement, because the factions' final stance will be decided by their respective leaders," Akbar said.

He added that Golkar's final stand on the matter was being drafted by an 11-member team. The draft, he said, would be presented to the party's leaders on Monday.

If Abdurrahman's response to a second memorandum fails to appease the legislators, a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly could be convened by August to impeach him.

The House first rebuked the President on Feb. 1 over his alleged involvement in two financial scandals. In his response, Abdurrahman vowed stricter measures against corruption, including a proposal to reverse the burden of proof for suspects in corruption cases.

The United Development Party (PPP) legislator who attended the Bali meeting, Bachtiar Chamsyah, said on Wednesday that the informal talks also focused on how to build a clean and strong government.

"The country is in a state of emergency, particularly from the security point of view, due, among other things, to economic hardship," said Bachtiar, who chaired the House special committee investigating the financial scandals that implicated the President.

He defended a plan to hand the President a second rebuke, saying that no improvement in the security and economic fields had been made since the first memorandum had been issued.

He said Abdurrahman's government in fact lacked legitimacy because of economic and legal uncertainties. (byg)