Opposing groups to stage rallies

Opposing groups to stage rallies

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Pro-government groups and
democracy activists plan to stage separate massive rallies here
today to reaffirm their stands on current state issues.

The planned rallies have triggered concern about heightening
political tension ahead of the 1997 general election, although
they will be held in different places.

The 15,000-strong pro-government groups will be spearheaded by
the local branch of the powerful FKPPI, a communication forum for
the offspring of retired Armed Forces members, sources said
yesterday.

The other group, the Indonesian Front for Democracy, is an
alliance of chiefly pro-democracy students and non-governmental
organization (NGO) activists.

Students and NGO activists have been actively displaying their
sympathy for the embattled Megawati Soekarnoputri, the
democratically elected leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) ousted last month at a government-backed congress.

Among those expressing worries about the planned massive
rallies were political observer H.H. Muis and the secretary of
the provincial PDI chapter, Jacobus Camarlow.

"To respond to a rally with a rally is not compatible with the
spirit of deliberation for consensus which President Soeharto
called for the other day," Muis said.

Camarlow said that rallies and counter-rallies can heighten
tension and endanger peaceful coexistence among various groups in
the area.

The planned rally already sparked heat over the weekend, when
the Cipayung Group, a powerful student group comprising several
nationalist and religious-based organizations, lodged a protest
over their inclusion on the list of participants in the rally.

The Cipayung group said that it is a moral movement that
accommodates different interests and shuns mass actions in its
efforts to achieve its goals. (20/pan)