People told not to go abroad ahead of polls

People told not to go abroad ahead of polls

CIAMIS, West Java (JP): President B.J. Habibie urged all
Indonesians not to go abroad ahead of the June 7 general
election, telling them to exercise their right to vote.

The President said people needed to remain at home because
successful elections were the only way the country could begin to
recover from the prolonged economic and political crises.

He said there was no reason for people to flee because the
elections would run peacefully and smoothly.

"There is no need for them to go overseas during the elections
because we must work together," Habibie said in an address to
thousands of Islamic boarding school students at Pondok Pesantren
Darussalam here.

International airlines and travel agents have reported an
increased number of bookings for flights out of Indonesia this
month. Many of those booking seats are Chinese-Indonesians, who
apparently fear for their safety during the elections.

In his speech, Habibie did not specify which group he was
urging to remain in Indonesia. However, Ponijan, an outspoken
Chinese-Indonesian activist, challenged Habibie to give concrete
evidence that he was able to protect all citizens, including
Chinese-Indonesians.

"The President must understand why these people want to go
abroad. The President and the military have repeatedly given
security guarantees, but then we find it is only rhetoric," the
founder of the newly established Indonesian Chinese Party (PARTI)
said. PARTI is not eligible to contest the polls.

Ponijan said not only Chinese-Indonesians but also other
ethnic groups, including those from Madura, had become the target
of human rights abuses.

"This has nothing to do with nationalism. The exodus from East
Timor and Sambas, for instance, does not involve Chinese-
Indonesians," Ponijan told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

When asked whether he would go abroad, he replied:
"Unfortunately I am not a prosperous man."

Director General of Immigration M. Mudakir recently said there
was no major surge in travelers leaving Indonesia through the
country's five major airports over the last two months. He said
the situation in May and June probably would remain the same.

Some major travel agents said they were seeing a rising demand
for flights out of the country. They said many also wanted to go
abroad because school holidays coincided with the elections.

Eni Tjandra, an executive at Vayatour travel agency, said the
number of tickets sold by her firm for the middle of this month
and early June had significantly increased. She said most of her
customers were Chinese-Indonesians, with the main destinations
Singapore, Australia and the United States.

"Some customers say they are worried about the security
situation during the campaign, but more say they just want to
travel abroad for vacation," Eni told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday.

Eni said her office was selling nearly 100 international
tickets every day, but was quick to add that many more tickets
were sold during last year's May riots.

"Last year we could not fulfill orders because demand was
extremely high," Eni said.

She said many people were anticipating the worst during the
elections and buying open-ended tickets.

President Habibie on Saturday reiterated his commitment to
safe and fair elections, saying he had ordered the Indonesian
Military to ensure his commitment.

"People must be able to cast their votes without force. The
elections must not be used as a guinea pig," Habibie said.

The General Elections Commission, the Elections Supervisory
Committee and the National Police signed on Monday an agreement
on election security.

Preparations for Habibie's visit to commemorate the school's
70th anniversary were marred by an air accident. Ten officers,
including two brigadier generals, were seriously injured when a
military helicopter carrying members of the Presidential Security
Guard and personnel from the Air Force crashed into a rice field
in Ciamis on April 24.

Ciamis is where recent mass killings have claimed at least 18
lives. Police have arrested 42 suspects in the murders. (43/prb)