Indonesian families want parties to curb violence

JAKARTA (JP): In anticipation of a turbulent campaign period, thousands of families are expected to gather on Sunday to demand that political parties act to curb violence.

During the gathering, leaders of political parties will pledge to uphold law and order and keep the streets safe for the general public, an organizer of the event said Friday.

Zaim Saidi, the deputy chairman of the organizing committee for Indonesian Families for a Peaceful Election, said on Friday that members of the public were welcome to join the event, which is free, at the Senayan Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta.

The event will last from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., said Zaim, a known advocate of consumer rights.

Although there have been a number of similar appeals in recent weeks, he said the organizers hoped that the physical presence of families and the oration of a pledge would reinforce the commitment of parties to stamp out campaign violence.

"Perhaps if the parties' promise is stated in black and white they will stick to it," Zaim told The Jakarta Post.

Organizers have placed large adverts in the media asking people to fill in their names, addresses and signatures to be attached to a petition asking the leaders of parties to make the pledge.

The petition was the most that could be done by the public, Zaim said, despite the fact that recent clashes between rival supporters, which claimed several lives, had shown that it was difficult for parties executives to control their supporters.

Organizing chairman Eep Saefulloh Fatah set a target of 1 million signatures for the petition, which will be read out on Sunday by poets including W.S. Rendra.

Sunday's gathering will also feature entertainment put on by various celebrities, including the popular Si Doel Family of the same TV series starring Rano Karno and child singer Joshua.

Zaim, who heads the independent Public Interest Research and Advocacy Center, said he could not yet say which of the 48 contesting parties had confirmed they would attend.

Friday also saw a number of other developments in the efforts of political parties and private groups to curb campaign violence.

From Yogyakarta, Antara reported that 47 parties in Sleman regency had agreed to set up joint posts to enable party representatives to monitor their supporters. An unexpected clash between party supporters in Yogyakarta killed at least one person in March. Party representatives agreed that supporters would not carry sharp weapons during the campaign, which runs from May 19 to June 4.

From Malang, the agency reported that the civil servants organization, Korpri, planned to provide a post box for residents wanting to report any government officials for overtly supporting or campaigning on behalf of political parties.

Civil servants are now banned from being politically active to ensure they remain neutral.

The chairman of Malang's Korpri branch, Sutrisno, said on Friday that the organization would welcome any criticism and suggestions from the public, adding that complaints of breaches of the campaigning rules should be backed up by evidence.

"That way it will be easier for us to apply sanctions to the guilty parties," he said.

As of Friday, a post box set up by the Central Java elections supervisory committee remained empty after two weeks of being open.

An employee from the committee's secretariat suggested a lack of awareness among the public about Post Box 2535 as a possible reason for the apparent apathy, Antara reported from Semarang.

"We really need the information, we cannot work alone," Dani, the employee, said.

From Padang, West Sumatra, police warned the public of the presence of alleged provocateurs in the province, saying they were intent on disrupting the election campaign in the province.

West Sumatra Police chief Col. Dasrul Lamsuddin claimed the trouble makers had been identified. He said the provocateurs were behind bomb threats and rumors of kidnappings which have swept through the province in recent weeks.

In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, hundreds of polling center (PPS) employees from 17 sub-districts threatened to resign over the failure of the government to pay wages owed to them.

Dul Hamid, the head of Balla Parang PPS, said employees had not received a single penny since beginning work at the polling station.

"We do not trust the government to pay the money after election," Dul added emotionally. (27/28/prb)