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)