Indonesian officers arrested for breaching peace

Indonesian officers arrested for breaching peace

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

VANCOUVER, Canada (JP): Two security officers from the
Indonesian delegation attending the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum here were arrested and stripped of their
APEC accreditation Tuesday for breach of the peace.

"Two members of the Indonesian delegation were arrested for
breach of the peace at the University of British Columbia earlier
this morning," said Cpl. J.A. Buis of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police.

"It was determined that these two individuals were Indonesian
security officers," he told The Jakarta Post Tuesday evening.

"They were immediately stripped of their APEC accreditation
and they have been turned over to the head of security of the
Indonesian delegation," Buis said, adding that they were found to
be carrying walkie-talkies when arrested.

AFP quoted Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas,
just before joining President Soeharto's entourage departing for
Saudi Arabia, as saying: "I deny any knowledge of this and I
think it is impossible for any Indonesian delegation members to
be involved in this kind of activity."

The incident occurred at the university campus where APEC
leaders, including President Soeharto, were convening a closed-
door meeting.

About 1,500 protesters gathered on the campus grounds to
express their concern on various matters including alleged human
rights abuses in Indonesia.

Protesters were kept at least 300 meters away from the venue
of the leaders meeting.

Witnesses said police stepped in as several of the protesters
tried to confront the two men whom they suspected were Indonesian
security agents.

Buis said that those detained for breach of the peace must be
released as soon as the situation returns to normal. "We cannot
hold a person in jail for any length of time."

Buis could not say how long the two men were detained, saying
only that they were held until identified.

News of the incident quickly spread and Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien admitted that he had been informed of it.

"I heard that there were some people from Indonesia who had
problems with the police," he said.

Protesters at the University of British Columbia did their
best to make an impact on the summit being held at the Museum of
Anthropology on campus grounds.

But police had cordoned-off the area and attempts to break
through the police line were fended off, sometimes with the use
of pepper spray.

Dozens of protesters were arrested by police.

Unheard

But the protest itself had little impact on the leaders. Cries
of "shame, shame" by the protesters was also, according to one
U.S. delegate, inaudible in the meeting.

"On the way to the university one could see demonstrators on
either side, but at that time there was nothing particularly
remarkable about them," said Mike Tarullo, assistant to the U.S.
president on international economic policy.

Throughout the week activists and non-governmental
organizations have lamented that APEC neglects to put human
rights on its agenda.

Prime Minister Chretien said the demonstrations were
acceptable.

"For me, in a democracy, people protest. I've been protested a
few times in my life," he said. "I did that myself too when I was
a student."

Chretien reiterated that APEC was a forum for trade and not
human rights.

"I don't think that APEC will ever have human rights on its
agenda," he said.