NU supporters told not to near House compound

NU supporters told not to near House compound

JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi
urged on Thursday the participants in Sunday's mass prayer rally
to return home immediately once the event was over in order to
allow the House of Representatives session the next day to
proceed undisturbed.

"None of the NU supporters are allowed to come close to the
House compound while the legislature is in session. Let the
session take place in peace," Hasyim said after meeting with a
number of Muslim leaders at the NU offices in Central Jakarta.

Present at the meeting were, among others, Abdul Rasyid
Syafiie of the Asyafiiyah Islamic boarding school, Syaifachruddin
of the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI),
Kholil Badawi of the Muslim Propagation Council (DDI),
intelligence assistant to the National Police chief Insp. Gen.
Arsyaad Mbai, and NU deputy chairman Achmad Bagdja and deputy
secretary-general Masduki Baidlawi.

The meeting was called by NU executives to give assurances
that the mass prayer, which President Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus
Dur as he is familiarly known, is slated to attend, would not
entail any political message.

Over 400,000 NU supporters from across Java are expected to
flood the east parking lot of the Gelora Bung Karno sports
complex for the rally.

Many of them, however, have pledged to stay in the city until
Monday in a show of support for the beleaguered President, who is
expected to be handed a second House censure.

In anticipation of disturbances during or between the two
events, security authorities have prepared 17,000 personnel from
the National Police and Indonesian Military. This number may
increase to 23,000 if the situation turns ugly. Should a critical
stage be reached, 42,000 personnel will be deployed.

While Abdul Rasyid welcomed the planned mass prayer, he
nevertheless said he would not encourage his followers to
participate.

"Let the event belong to the NU. I will ask my jamaah
(followers) to pray in their own residences or mosques," Rasyid
said.

On foot of widespread fears of unrest, earlier in the day
Hasyim met the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Ralf J. Boyce at
the Regent Hotel to assure him that the mass prayer would go off
peacefully and that he could control the NU masses.

Many foreign missions here have reportedly requested security
personnel to be stationed at their compounds.

Separately, the Forum for Peace Indonesia (FID) voiced its
concern that the people were being placed in a dangerous
situation due to the political conflict and the resulting
violence being perpetrated on behalf of certain political
interests.

"We expect Gus Dur to urge his followers not to come to
Jakarta, or to ask those who have entered the capital to return
home," FID member and noted Catholic scholar Franz Magniz Suseno
told a press conference.

"No more violence is acceptable here," Franz said.

Also present at the press conference were former finance
minister Mari'e Muhammad, activist and stage actress Ratna
Sarumpaet, sociologists Imam B. Prasodjo and Melly G. Tan, and
the Justice Party (PK)'s chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid.

When asked whether the FID could facilitate the finding of a
solution to the current political turmoil, Mari'e said that the
big five among the country's political parties, namely the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the
Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the National
Awakening Party (PKB), and the National Mandate Party (PAN), must
sit down together for a dialog.

"Since their dispute has affected the country's security, they
will also have to invite the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief and
the National Police chief along to the dialog," Mari'e said.

Separately, the Jakarta Police announced they had deployed
plainclothes intelligence officers for special security duties in
at least eight hot spots in the Central Jakarta area in
connection with the possibility that these spots could be used to
conceal "snipers or hit men".

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said the
eight spots included the Mulia Hotel, the Hilton Hotel, the
Manggala Wanabhakti compound, and hotels and buildings in the
area of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

"This sort of deployment is necessary in case there are
snipers or people who would open fire at random from these
buildings to cause chaos," Anton told reporters.

Anton added that maximum security efforts would be mainly
concentrated in the Senayan area.

He said that up to 6,000 officers would be deployed in the
vicinity of the House compound alone; 500 officers in the area of
the Taman Ria Senayan amusement park; 600 officers around the
Pulau Dua restaurant next to the Taman Ria flyover; 450 officers
in the Manggala Wanabhakti compound; 350 officers in the area of
the Senayan shooting range; 250 officers around the state-owned
TVRI television station; 1,000 officers in the vicinity of
Suropati Park in Menteng, Central Jakarta; and about 300 officers
in the vicinity of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Anton added that no civilians would be allowed to participate
in security operations from April 29 onwards. (02/ylt)