Officials deny rumors of unrest
JAKARTA (JP): The country's leaders dismissed yesterday the rampant rumors of impending unrest this weekend ahead of the Aug. 17 Independence Day celebration.
President B.J. Habibie, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Feisal Tanjung and National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi promoted a sense of calm and appealed to people not to be stirred by unfounded rumors.
Despite the assurances, many people appear to be bracing themselves for the worst as word-of-mouth speculation has sown anxiety.
Travel agents in the capital reported unusually high demand for ticket reservations to overseas destination for this time of year and in the economic crisis.
They refused to speculate whether the increased demand was due to people seeking a safe haven or merely taking advantage of the long weekend.
The Armed Forces also flexed its muscle here yesterday as it gathered 12,500 personnel in what it described as a routine check on preparations for the independence celebrations, which will include several state ceremonies.
President B.J. Habibie said yesterday he could understand that people may still be traumatized by the riots which hit major cities in May, but maintained there was no reason to doubt the security status.
He said people must not be influenced by baseless rumors spread on the Internet or through leaflets.
"Let us jointly fight the rumors spread by irresponsible people," he said when meeting 100 Protestant leaders at Bina Graha presidential office.
Feisal Tanjung also shot down rumors of unrest as "nonsense".
"It is very easy to disseminate such rumors," he told reporters prior to a weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday.
Major cities such Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan have been gripped by fear of nationwide rampage around Aug. 17.
Independence Day is usually marked by a gathering of legislators to listen to a presidential address, scheduled this year on Saturday.
On Monday, a flag-raising ceremony will be held in the grounds of Merdeka Palace.
Public events and communal gatherings have been traditional mainstays of the commemoration. However, community leaders this year have subtly discouraged the public from marking the anniversary.
The date is customarily used as an arena by the government to display its successes of the previous year.
With the country reeling from the worst economic crisis in its history, the situation is completely different this year.
People are also still in shock from the devastating riots which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 people and destruction of thousands of buildings in the capital.
Roesmanhadi urged people yesterday not to be agitated by rumors as the police guaranteed the safety of all citizens.
"Again, I say Indonesia is safe," he said.
Roesmanhadi admitted that some people had fled the country as a result of the rumors but "those actually had nothing to fear.
Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman yesterday morning inspected a Jakarta Security Forces display involving 12,500 personnel from police, air force, marines, troops from the Jakarta Military Command and civilian forces.
He denied the troops were deployed to anticipate possible unrest and maintained they were part of the annual security preparations for Independence Day.
Flights
Several airlines and travel agencies confirmed yesterday they had received an unusually high number of bookings. Destinations to Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia were said to be in high demand.
"It is often full on weekends. But for the next three days, it has never been that full," Singapore Airlines administration and public relations manager Susie Charma told The Jakarta Post.
Executives at Qantas Airways and Cathay Pacific reported that flights to Singapore, Hong Kong and Australian destinations are almost fully booked through Monday.
"The rush to buy tickets started Tuesday, but the flights will get really full on Friday and Saturday," Qantas' sales and marketing executive Fonny Tedjakusmana said.
Cathay Pacific Marketing Communications Manager Ida Bayuni said yesterday "our load factor has reached over 90 percent since today, and will reach its peak on Friday and Saturday".
National flag carrier Garuda disclosed yesterday its reservations to Hong Kong and Singapore for the next three days rose by 20 percent from normal days.
Pudjo Wahyono, general manager of travel agency PT Bayu Buana, noted rising orders, mostly from Chinese-Indonesians, for processing passports and visas.
"The number of people visiting here for travel documents since the beginning of August was even higher than those who come during the high season," he said.
But Rossi of travel agency PT Ina Media Wisatamas claimed that many of the agency's clients explained they were taking advantage of the three-day holiday. (prb/edt/gis/jun/ivy)