Police chief warns against mass rally

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)