Negotiators behind peaceful rallies

Negotiators behind peaceful rallies

JAKARTA (JP): Smarting from the past, when demonstrations were
prone to clashes between protesters and security personnel,
police have found a recipe for dealing with street rallies,
regardless of their size, during the Annual Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) now underway.

Unlike the old security arrangements which put the rank and
file in front, the National Police now lets middle- and high-
ranking officers spearhead the security personnel handling
demonstrations.

Called the negotiators, these officers have the main task of
preventing unnecessary clashes during a rally.

"We have replaced privates with higher-ranking officers in the
front line. Although they are normally able to remain cooler than
privates, they also received a special briefing before serving
during the MPR Annual Session," Sr. Supt. Guliansyah, who is in
charge of security affairs during the MPR session, told Antara.

There are 200 police officers with special qualifications as
negotiators. Specialized in anticipating possible deadlock in
negotiations with demonstrators, the work of the negotiators
looks to have been successful.

"Usually, we persuade the protesters to arrange their own
schedule and the location of their rallies, which is usually in
front of the MPR compound. So if the protesters come from various
groups they will not fight against each other," First Insp.
Listen Pasaribu said. (dja)