Military threatens to get tougher
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) warned yesterday that it would not hesitate to use force in quelling future disturbances similar to those which rocked Jakarta over the weekend.
ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid said troopers had a standing order not to open fire when dealing with the rioters last weekend. However, he hinted that the order could be withdrawn if the violence persists.
"Don't try us again," Syarwan said during a meeting at the Ministry of Information that gathered editors from all the newspapers and broadcasting companies.
Separately, Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, the chief of the Jakarta Regional Military Command, said he would order his soldiers to shoot on sight at the first sign of things getting out of control.
"The order to shoot on the spot will be given if they (troublemakers) renew their efforts to disrupt peace and order at the expense of the general interest of the public.
"We have our limit of tolerance," he was quoted by Antara as saying. Every security forces member in the field is now carrying firearms in anticipation of spreading violence, he added.
Syarwan said the unrest was the work of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), riding on the back of the leadership conflict within the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
"This is no longer a question of the conflict between Soerjadi and Megawati (Soekarnoputri)," he said of the two bickering PDI leaders.
"This is an uprising," he said, adding that some of the PRD members were trained in the Philippines.
The PRD, founded in 1994, has been blamed for many anti- government protests and labor strikes in the past year.
Police yesterday raided the PRD headquarters in the Tebet district in South Jakarta only to find it empty.
President Soeharto on Monday said that PRD is "synonymous" with PKI, the Indonesian Communist Party banned in 1966 after it was blamed for staging a coup a year earlier.
Asked about the strength of the PRD, Syarwan said it was still too small to stage an uprising. "It is a thorn in the flesh and we have to get rid of it. If it is allowed to continue, it will stage a coup d'etat."
He said the 200 or so people held for questioning after the riots were "small worms" and the authorities are going after the masterminds, or the "intellectual" figures, behind the flare-up.
He cited Budiman Sudjatmiko, the PRD chairman, as one of the figures the authorities are looking for.
Budiman in an interview with Gatra magazine last week stressed that the PRD's ideology is "people's social democracy". If the authorities see similarities with the PKI, he said, that is only because the PRD follows a conventional party structure and not because it is a copycat of the PKI.
Syarwan said an order had been issued to all regional military commands to stop the activities of the PRD.
In Surabaya, the military has closed down the PRD office and declared its activities in the East Java province illegal.
Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata said yesterday that he had asked for President Soeharto's permission to question Megawati and Soerjadi in connection with the violence.
Both Megawati and Soerjadi enjoy privileges in their capacities as members of the House of Representatives. Any questioning by the police must have the consent of the President.
Pressure is mounting from some politicians and organizations to pin the blame for the unrest on Megawati because she allowed the free-speech forum sessions to take place at the PDI headquarters when it was under her control.
The forum had been used by Megawati's supporters and activists to attack the government. The riot followed the forced takeover of the headquarters by Soerjadi's supporters on Saturday morning.
Hamami said police have formally issued arrest warrants for 120 people with charges ranging from rebellion and arson to destruction of property. Police were still questioning 120 others yesterday.
Another body was found yesterday inside Bank Kesawan, one of several office buildings razed in Saturday's rampage. Workers found an ID card with the name of Suganda Siahaan of Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, on the badly charred body.
The military said two people were killed in Saturday's riots: one a security guard who jumped from the seventh floor of a bank building on fire, the other a protester who died of a heart attack. Police declined to comment on the finding of a third body.
The weekend flare-up was also the main topic at the monthly cabinet meeting to review the security situation in the country.
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman said after the meeting that the PRD and similar organizations are clearly opposed to the New Order.
"We appeal to everyone for restraint and to not be influenced by irresponsible rumors that try to discredit the New Order," he said. (emb/mds/bsr)
Comment -- Page 2
Losses -- Page 3