Police to hunt for weapons ahead of House session

Police to hunt for weapons ahead of House session

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Police announced on Thursday they
would take proactive measures to prevent violence in the streets
when the House of Representatives meets on April 30 to discuss a
second memorandum of censure against President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Jakarta Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said
some 7,600 officers would be deployed throughout the capital to
sweep for weapons.

After meeting with Governor Sutiyoso at City Hall, Makbul said
the main target of the operation would be people from outside the
capital. "We will not target the people, but their sharp
weapons," he added.

He said officers would be deployed to many of the capital's
entry points, such as railway stations and harbors.

Thousands of people from East Java have pledged to travel to
the capital to support the embattled President, who could be
handed a second memorandum of censure for his alleged role in two
financial scandals.

A wave of demonstrations by supporters and critics of
Abdurrahman rolled through the city prior to the House's first
censure of the President on Feb. 1.

Governor Sutiyoso said on Thursday the weapons searches would
not only target people from East Java, which is Abdurrahman's
stronghold, but also Jakarta residents.

"The operation is meant to ensure there is not repeat of the
May 1998 riots," Sutiyoso said.

Sutiyoso also said he had asked his East Java, Central Java
and West Java counterparts to urge Abdurrahman's supporters not
to travel to Jakarta.

Meanwhile, there were a number of small demonstrations in the
capital on Thursday.

More than 20 students from the Student Union of Indonesian
Administration Association gathered in front of the Supreme Court
on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta. The demonstrators
urged the court to dissolve the Golkar Party for its past crimes,
and demanded that former president Soeharto and his cronies be
put on trial.

The students spray painted graffiti on the front gate of the
court and delivered speeches before dispersing at about 3 p.m.,
after handing a written statement to a representative of the
court.

Earlier in the day, dozens of Acehnese activists gathered at
the United States Embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan, also in Central
Jakarta. The members of the Antiviolence Youth and Student Front
demanded the U.S. government mediate in the Aceh conflict.

The activists also urged the Free Aceh Movement and Indonesian
security forces to "hold their fire". The demonstration proceeded
peacefully under the watchful eyes of a number of police
officers.

And members of the Bolaang Mongondow Potential Assessment
Forum rallied in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs and
Regional Autonomy to protest the shooting of seven people on
Monday. The seven were shot when police moved in to end a
demonstration against the election of Marlina Moha Siahaan as the
regent of Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi.

The group also demanded Minister of Home Affairs and Regional
Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja annul the election, though they did
not say why they opposed the election of Marlina. (bby/jun)