Police disband PRD rally

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Police here dispersed hundreds of Democratic People's Party (PRD) supporters who attended a night campaign rally on Monday.

The party supporters had flocked to Saudagaran square on Jl. D.I. Panjaitan when about 100 police came to disband the gathering on grounds that it violated campaign rules. The police insisted that the party branch here had failed to notify them of the event beforehand.

An overhead projector, a screen and sound system set belonging to the party were seized.

During the night campaign rally, the party planned to show supporters videotapes of the Trisakti tragedy, in which security troops fired on student demonstrators at Trisakti University in Jakarta in May of last year.

"The police have ruthlessly infringed our political rights. This is indeed a repressive act," Arif, a PRD legislative candidate, said.

Chief of local police, Lt. Col. Johnny Hutahuruk, defended the police move, saying the gathering was illegal. "A campaign rally plan must be informed of to the police and it cannot be held in the evening," Johnny said. (45)