Police train parties' security

BOGOR (JP): Police gave a training course for about 430 security officers from 43 political parties on Tuesday and Wednesday to help maintain security before and during the June 7 General Election.

Bogor Mayor R. Iswara Natanegara said in his speech at the opening of the two-day training course at the Bogor Mayoralty compound that the security officers had to be vigilant toward any possible disturbance from "political hoodlums" during the campaign period.

"The facts show that there are hoodlums who could be ordered by certain political powers to spark riots in several cities in the country," Iswara.

He explained that such people typically "infiltrated" the political parties so as to cause conflicts among party supporters.

He urged the security officers to conduct a preliminary investigation to identify the existence of such agitators before they could cause any disturbances.

Meanwhile, Bogor Police chief Lt. Col. Budi Gunawan said the training was aimed at improving the security officers' skills to control their party supporters. (24/jun)