PDI-P mulls reviving posts to fight terrorism: Roy
PDI-P mulls reviving posts to fight terrorism: Roy
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is
giving consideration to reactivating posko (command posts), to
help in the country's fight against terrorism, a senior party
leader said on Sunday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the party's national working
meeting in Jakarta, PDI Perjuangan chairman Roy B.B. Janis said
the move would be taken in response to an instruction by party
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to be alert to terrorist
threats.
"We'll reactivate posko if we think we need them," Roy said.
PDI Perjuangan erected thousands of party posts throughout the
country after the fall of former president Soeharto in 1998,
which helped maintain peace and security in some places. The
posts, however, were dismantled after Megawati was elected vice
president in 1999.
In some regions, the posts ran into trouble with local people
as they blackmailed people or committed violence, a problem that
analysts are worried could recur if posko were revived.
Analysts also said should posko be resurrected, that would
effectively mark the start of PDI Perjuangan's general election
campaign for 2004.
PDI Perjuangan vice secretary-general Pramono Anung revealed
that the party would ensure that the entire party apparatus down
to neighborhood level (RT) would help security officers to
anticipate terrorist activity across the country.
"It's part of our responsibility to actively reduce public
fear following the Bali bombing last week," he said.
"We will mobilize tens of thousands of PDI Perjuangan leaders
to help create a sense of security."
Megawati opened on Sunday the party's three-day, closed-door
meeting, attended by over 80 percent of its 30 provincial office
heads (DPD), and 372 leaders of district executive boards (DPC).
The meeting, which was supposed to debate the party's program,
decided to address antiterrorism measures following the Bali
incident on Oct. 12, which killed nearly 200 people.
Last Friday, Pemuda Anshor, the youth wing of the largest
Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, launched a 100-day
antiterrorism campaign.
Such active public participation may be followed by other
groups as the public may not feel protected by the security
provided by the police.
Commenting on the government's regulation on antiterrorism,
Roy expressed the hope that the public would not get into an
extended debate over its content, which, according to legal
experts and human rights activists, is liable to human rights
abuses.
"Don't argue about human rights abuses any longer. The
perpetrators of the Bali bombing killed many innocent people;
they violated human rights," he said.
"PDI Perjuangan fully supports the regulation as it would
protect the public from terrorist attack. Without the regulation,
the government would have no lawful means to tackle the issue,"
he stressed.
He also said the meeting would not be addressing recent
bribery scandals at the House of Representatives, allegedly
involving several PDI Perjuangan members.
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is
giving consideration to reactivating posko (command posts), to
help in the country's fight against terrorism, a senior party
leader said on Sunday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the party's national working
meeting in Jakarta, PDI Perjuangan chairman Roy B.B. Janis said
the move would be taken in response to an instruction by party
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to be alert to terrorist
threats.
"We'll reactivate posko if we think we need them," Roy said.
PDI Perjuangan erected thousands of party posts throughout the
country after the fall of former president Soeharto in 1998,
which helped maintain peace and security in some places. The
posts, however, were dismantled after Megawati was elected vice
president in 1999.
In some regions, the posts ran into trouble with local people
as they blackmailed people or committed violence, a problem that
analysts are worried could recur if posko were revived.
Analysts also said should posko be resurrected, that would
effectively mark the start of PDI Perjuangan's general election
campaign for 2004.
PDI Perjuangan vice secretary-general Pramono Anung revealed
that the party would ensure that the entire party apparatus down
to neighborhood level (RT) would help security officers to
anticipate terrorist activity across the country.
"It's part of our responsibility to actively reduce public
fear following the Bali bombing last week," he said.
"We will mobilize tens of thousands of PDI Perjuangan leaders
to help create a sense of security."
Megawati opened on Sunday the party's three-day, closed-door
meeting, attended by over 80 percent of its 30 provincial office
heads (DPD), and 372 leaders of district executive boards (DPC).
The meeting, which was supposed to debate the party's program,
decided to address antiterrorism measures following the Bali
incident on Oct. 12, which killed nearly 200 people.
Last Friday, Pemuda Anshor, the youth wing of the largest
Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, launched a 100-day
antiterrorism campaign.
Such active public participation may be followed by other
groups as the public may not feel protected by the security
provided by the police.
Commenting on the government's regulation on antiterrorism,
Roy expressed the hope that the public would not get into an
extended debate over its content, which, according to legal
experts and human rights activists, is liable to human rights
abuses.
"Don't argue about human rights abuses any longer. The
perpetrators of the Bali bombing killed many innocent people;
they violated human rights," he said.
"PDI Perjuangan fully supports the regulation as it would
protect the public from terrorist attack. Without the regulation,
the government would have no lawful means to tackle the issue,"
he stressed.
He also said the meeting would not be addressing recent
bribery scandals at the House of Representatives, allegedly
involving several PDI Perjuangan members.