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)