Millions flock to polling stations from Irian to Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): The Dani tribesmen of Irian Jaya's Baliem valley voted yesterday with millions of fellow Indonesians thanks to traditional ceremonies, good food and smoke signals that guided them to polling stations.

At 7:00 a.m. the Dani -- wearing animal skin headbands with long bird feathers, yalimo shell necklaces, layers of pork fat and other ceremonial attire -- began filling into polling stations around the town of Wamena, Jayawijaya.

Outside Wamena, thick smoke rose from stone fireplaces on which they cooked traditional cassava and pork meals. The smoke was a signal for Dani villagers to gather for an important event.

The election proceeded without incident in most parts of the country, although scrutineers from all parties were not on hand at many ballot stations.

During election campaigns, Irian tribespeople made news when many of them appeared with their penis sheaths (koteka) painted yellow, the color of Golkar.

Voting went smoothly in Manado, North Sulawesi, even though only the dominant Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) fielded scrutineers, Antara reported.

PDI scrutineers were absent at most polling stations in Yogyakarta. A PDI member said that most PDI scrutineers had been threatened by party rivals who were loyal to the ousted PDI leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

PDI scrutinizers were also absent in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, and in Kendari, Central Sulawesi. Only Golkar scrutineers were present at most polling stations in Bandar Lampung, Lampung.

In Serang, West Java, Governor H.R. Nuriana said that all rumors of polling stations being burned down had proved untrue.

There had been rumors since Wednesday night of people vandalizing or torching polling stations in Serdang regency, which was hit by riots last week during campaigning.

The staff at Serang city hall were ordered to change into plain clothes before they went to polling stations for fear of violence. Civil servants are obliged to vote Golkar.

In Surabaya, streets were deserted and business was quiet as dozens of soldiers maintained pickets across the city because of rumored riots.

Brawijaya Military Commander Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo said Wednesday that rioters trying to disrupt the election would be shot on the spot.

In Pasuruan, East Java, hundreds of ballot papers on which Golkar symbols had already been pricked were discovered before voting yesterday. Fifty of the spoiled ballot papers were found in a polling station in Kraton district. These were destroyed immediately.

In Pamekasan, Madura, about 1,000 people only received their voting notifications yesterday morning.

Sources said that about 15 percent of the town's eligible voters, most of them United Development Party (PPP) supporters, had not received their forms until after voting had ended. They were told the local electoral committee had run out of forms.

In Ambon, the capital of Maluku, leaflets were distributed throughout the town telling people not to vote for one of the parties. The pamphlets were printed by the Forum for State and Country Awareness.

In Bogor, West Java, anonymous leaflets were distributed telling people not to vote. There were also rumors that ballot boxes would be burnt because the election results had been predetermined.

In Jakarta, students flocked to polling stations near their schools. A student said a teacher had told her class Wednesday to vote for "peace," otherwise they would not pass their exams. She was apparently referring to Golkar, whose two-finger sign resembles a peace sign.

The student said she did not vote. "That's because I don't like to be forced. For my safety, it's better not to vote," she said.

Nurmalita, a final-year student from another school, said she had felt no intimidation. "I was not forced to vote for a certain contestant, no one in my school intimidated me."

In Depok, West Java, polling stations outside the University of Indonesia were guarded by two armored vehicles.

In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, streets and markets were deserted and most shops did not open until 2:00 p.m. Many private offices also closed to give staff a chance to vote near their homes.

Stevedoring at the Makassar harbor stopped until midday because workers voted near their homes.

Two polling stations were set up at Hasanuddin airport so 2,000 airport staff and travelers with special forms could vote.

In Medan, North Sumatra, the streets were quiet and businesses did not open until midday. Most factories at the Medan Industrial Estate gave their workers the day off.

Polling stations were not the only places that accepted ballot papers. Patients in hospitals cast ballots without getting out of bed. In Semarang, 204 patients at Dr. Kariadi hospital voted in bed as did 700 patients at Jakarta's Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital and about 60 patients at St. Carolus hospital.

Central Java's Diponegoro military chief Maj. Gen. Subagyo HS said in Surakarta the authorities foiled an attempt by about 200 people to vandalize a polling station in Pemalang, Antara reported.

But in Dili, East Timor, no one from the local electoral committee turned up at the city's general hospital until 10:00 a.m. local time, where 119 people had been waiting to vote.

Prison inmates in Bandar Lampung, Dili, Denpasar, Ambon and Ujungpandang voted, Antara reported. But only those serving less than five years were eligible to vote. (05/pwn/23/nur/38/24/21)