'No firearms' for officers assigned to secure MPR

JAKARTA (JP): No firearms should be carried by the police and Indonesian Military (TNI) officers, safeguarding the inner and outer areas of the People's Legislative Assembly (MPR)/House of Representatives (DPR) complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, during the MPR General Session, a National Police spokesman said.

Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar said on Thursday that the officers will only be furnished with anti-riot equipment.

"Only water cannons, tear gas and sticks will be used if things get out of hand," Togar said.

The spokesman was speaking in reference to a section of the joint forces, safeguarding the capital during the MPR General Session. The entire force will involve some 30,000 police officers and TNI members.

"With this in mind, I ask all the nation's residents, particularly those of West, East and Central Java, not to bring their masses to the capital during the Session."

"There will be a stand-by force of course, comprising of both military and police officers who will carry firearms, in case of riot situations," Togar said, without elaborating on the stand-by force.

"If city residents want to participate in securing the Session with us, they could be placed in several business and residential areas of the capital's 43 districts," Togar said.

Earlier, Governor Sutiyoso said as many as 605 TNI companies or about 60,000 security officers will be deployed to safeguard the MPR general session.

"The joint security forces will consist of officers from the city police, the military, the People's Security (Kamra) and the City Public Order Office," Sutiyoso said after chairing a meeting of the city collective leadership at City Hall last week.

The number of troops to be deployed this year is down on last year's deployment, when 78,000 security forces were spread throughout the city to safeguard the Special Session of the MPR.

Meanwhile, Togar said the operation, code-named Martabrata VI, would start 45 days before the Assembly's General Session and continue until a month after it ends.

Those deployed in the capital to secure the Session, he said, would come from the Army's Special Force (Kopassus), Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Navy Elite Marine troops and the Navy's West Fleet (Armabar), Air Force Operations Command (Koopsau), National Air Defense Command (Kohanudnas) and Air Force Special Troops (Paskhas) and the Elite Police Mobile Brigade.

Members of the 700-seat MPR are scheduled to be sworn in on Friday. They will meet again in early November to elect a new president and vice president, and to endorse the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN). (ylt)