Officials deny rumors of unrest

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)