Police chief warns against mass rally

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo warned members of the political elite on Wednesday against staging politically motivated mass rallies which might lead to chaos and violence prior to the coming People's Consultative Assembly General Session.

Responding to journalists' questions on recent mass deployments, such as Laskar Jihad, Rusdihardjo said that mass deployment would be all right "as long as it is not destructive and hazardous to others, and still respects others' freedom".

Rusdihardjo was in Bali to open a seminar on The Enforcement of Intellectual Rights at the Holiday Hotel Inn in Kuta.

"I believe a mass rally will still happen," he said, adding that such a move was an expression of democracy.

He said he could not predict what political groups would use mass rallies in their maneuvers. "All political groups may do that."

"Moreover, street demonstrations have likely become a profession to many. There is a company doing a mass deployment business. The people who are recruited are paid. The wage varies depending on the length of the demonstration and the service the participant does during the demo. This is a fact," said Rusdihardjo.

The three-star police general said, however, that in general the security in the country was conducive ahead of the General Session scheduled for August.

He said that the police had anticipated facing demonstrators. "They are our brothers. Any actions must be conducted based on standard procedures."

He said he preferred persuasive steps in handling mass rally- related problems, citing the successful approach made by the Bogor Police when asking Laskar Jihad to vacate their training camp in Bogor.

Speaking of law enforcement of intellectual rights violations, he said Indonesia was still weak in that matter. "Knowledge and understanding about intellectual rights among police officers is still poor."

So far Indonesian Police have had 100 officers participate in an international course on intellectual rights.

Police records indicate there were 223 intellectual rights violations last year, 258 in 1998 and 409 in 1997. "There is a trend of it declining," he said. (zen/sur)