Military, police chiefs told to keep capital free of unrest

BOGOR (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto said on Thursday that he had ordered Jakarta military and police chiefs to work together to stop any possible unrest from happening in the capital.

"I've asked the two parties to solve any kind of unrest, whatever the size, which may occur in Jakarta in a bid to stop possible escalation," Tyasno said after observing a joint basic military training for units under the Jakarta Military Command in Ciampea district here.

He, therefore, wants Jakarta's two top security officials -- Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu and Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman -- to continue coordinating with each other so any disturbance in the city can be stopped as soon as possible.

"We consider the 1998 experience as a good lesson for us," the general said, referring to the violent riots, burnings and lootings, which took the lives of hundreds of people in Jakarta.

"We don't want violence in Ambon, Maluku and Lombok to happen in Jakarta. We don't want to take a risk of letting it happen, because the 1998 experience led to the downfall of the previous government," Tyasno said.

Separately in Jakarta, Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said only senior police officers and security personnel were allowed to carry out security checks of ID cards on motorists and passersby.

"Besides them (officers), no one is allowed to conduct security checks because they have no right at all to do such a thing," Noegroho said during an impromptu visit to several spots in the city on Thursday afternoon.

The two-star general was responding to unconfirmed reports of a series of ID checks conducted by civilians, particularly on motorists, in certain streets in the capital.

It is unclear what the groups were searching for, but reports said the street checks could be connected to the sectarian violence happening in several areas across the country.

Noegroho acknowledged that his office did not receive any reports about the ID checks, in which civilians, reportedly armed with sticks, blocked streets, stopped motorists and asked them to show their identification cards.

"No... No...," he said when asked whether Jakarta Police were informed about the security checks by civilians.

"Who are they? There's no way they can do that.

"What are their credentials? They are not allowed to do that.

"They are in the wrong because only police and security personnel have the right to carry out security checks," he said. (asa/bsr)