Planned rallies spark fear of confrontation

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)