Police threaten to shoot troublemakers

Police threaten to shoot troublemakers

JAKARTA (JP): Police have threatened to shoot anyone who
attempts to disrupt the House of Representatives' Plenary
Session, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, and the Group of
15 (G-15) summit to be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacob said on Saturday
that live ammunition would be used in providing security for the
two events.

"That is in accordance with our procedures. So, don't even try
to disrupt those two events," he said.

The G-15 summit, whose preliminary meeting started on Friday,
is taking place at the Jakarta Convention Centre plenary hall on
Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, while the guests are staying
at the Hilton hotel, both located in the same compound. The venue
is close to the House of Representatives/People's Consultative
Assembly (DPR/MPR) building.

Sofjan said the police were using the ring mechanism - ring I
to ring IV in the security system, Antara reported.

"In ring I, the police will use live bullets, not to kill but
to paralyze (trouble makers)," he said.

Other than the plenary hall, the hotel and the DPR/MPR
building compound, the presidential palace and the vice
presidential palace are included in security ring I.

Ring II covers the area from in front of the DPR/MPR building
to the flyover on Jl. Gerbang Pemuda, Senayan.

If there are rioters, Sofjan said, within the ring II zone the
police would try to negotiate with the people to disperse
themselves peacefully. Tear gas and rubber bullets would be used
when necessary.

"But in an emergency, if there is no choice, we will use live
bullets," he said.

Ring III covers the city's main roads, including some
government buildings, while ring IV covers the business hub.

The color red is used for ring I, yellow for ring II, green
for ring III and white for ring IV.

TV stations

Meanwhile, city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam
said on Sunday that extra security, comprising police and
military officers, had also been deployed in and around malls,
department stores and other central business locations here.

He said that extra security would also be needed should
demonstrators resort to acts of anarchy, "like vandalism and
arson".

He added that security had been stepped up around television
stations here ahead of the May 30 plenary session, when
legislators are most likely to call for an MPR special session to
impeach Abdurrahman.

Anton identified the stations receiving extra protection as
RCTI, ANteve, Metro TV, Indosiar, TPI and SCTV.

He said some 30 officers had been deployed around each TV
station but many more officers had been deployed at malls in the
capital, particularly in Central and West Jakarta.

"Crowded hot spots and major centers are our top priorities,"
he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Earlier, city military spokesman Lt. Col. Nachrowi said that
the deployment of extra security around the television stations
was a necessity.

"In 1998 (riots), TV stations were a target of attacks by the
masses," Nachrowi said on Saturday.

Anton noted that the security situation might worsen here
around May 30 because of the current political uncertainty.

"Our first priority is to prevent any acts of terror such as
bombings. No bomb should go off. It would be shameful for our
image if a bomb went off and a head of state (from the Group of
15 summit) left our country in fear."

Anton said that on May 30 some 27,000 police and military
officers would be deployed across the capital.

He added that officers of the Army Strategic Reserves Command
(Kostrad) would also join police officers in securing the capital
in those crucial days.

Anton said that Kostrad had also provided assistance in the
form of about 2,000 pieces of civil defense apparatus, such as
bulletproof vests, rubber bullets, shields and helmets.

Sofjan said earlier the police would deploy 4,000 officers
from the military and the police to provide security for the G-15
summit and 7,000 others to safeguard the House's plenary session.

He also said that on Saturday, police found a package
containing batteries and wires on the railway track between
Gambir train station and Juanda station in Central Jakarta. It
contained no explosives, he said.

In March, a bomb exploded in the middle of a railway bridge
over the Cisadane river in Serpong, Banten, about 30 kilometers
from Jakarta. No fatalities were reported. In January, three live
grenades were found on a railway track in Lemah Abang district,
Bekasi, West Java.

Sofjan said earlier that the bombs which were assembled in an
Acehnese student dormitory in South Jakarta, were reportedly
meant to be placed by bombers in malls on May 12.

Three people were killed instantly and a major portion of a
dormitory was extensively destroyed in a bomb blast on May 10.
The blast occurred when one of the assemblers reportedly set the
bomb off by accident. (ylt/sim)