Police disband PRD rally

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)