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)