Police urged to act firmly against radical Muslim groups

JAKARTA (JP): Legislators made an earnest appeal Monday to the police to act resolutely against those responsible for anti- American searches, while the later pledged to persist with their actions.

"The police could either question or arrest them," Ibrahim Ambong, chairman of House Commission I for security and foreign policy affairs, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Ibrahim was referring to anti-American groups who reportedly carried out a hunt for Americans in top hotels in the Central Java town of Surakarta on Sunday.

The Golkar Party legislator was speaking on the sidelines of a hearing with Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil.

Any kind of search for Americans in public places would fly in the face of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's promise to maintain security for investors in the country, Ibrahim said.

Megawati assured American investors in Houston on Saturday that the security situation in Indonesia was improving.

The position of Commission I, Ibrahim said, was clear, that such actions were against the law.

"If these actions persist, we will summon the police chief to the House," he said.

National Mandate Party (PAN) legislator Andi Mappataheng Fatwa said that the police had to fulfill their promises to protect foreign citizens, and especially Americans given the present circumstances.

"Even more so after Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard himself asked the police chief to protect U.S. interests and its citizens in Indonesia," the House Deputy Speaker from the Reform Faction told the Post.

He said that the police should back up Megawati's efforts in the U.S. by taking prompt action against those responsible for such actions.

In Surakarta, militant Muslim groups vowed to conduct another search for Americans in the city but did not specify when.

The pledge was made at a public gathering in Solo attended by hundreds of militants on Monday at 15:00, Detik.com reported.

Earlier, a number of Muslim organizations, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), issued a statement saying that they would expel Americans if the U.S. attacked Afghanistan.

Amin Arjoso, a legislator from the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) said that any such action would be illegal.

The police should take swift action as they have the power and authority to do so, he said.

Matori said that such actions could not be condoned by law.

"I hope the police along with the government will take adequate measures to stop them," Matori said.

The Jakarta Police said they would prevent any offensive actions against foreigners in the capital.

"If they interrupt or harass foreigners on the streets or elsewhere, we will arrest them because that is against the law" Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Com. Anton Bachrul Alam said.

Police Secretary-General Comr. Gen. Yun Mulyana, however, denied that any searches for American citizens had taken place in Surakarta on Saturday.

"There was nothing of the sort. I checked it myself with Central Java. There was no so-called sweeping (against Americans)," he said in Jakarta on Sunday.

What had happened was that banners had been hung in strategic locations, including in front of several hotels, which repeated the threats that had been made earlier, he said.

A hotel operator in Surakarta said there had been no hunt for Americans in the city.

"What really happened on Sunday was not a search." said Aris Supriyadi, a manager in the Sahid Raya Hotel.

Aris said the incident had not affected the hotel's occupancy rate.

National Police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi contacted by phone Monday, however, refused to comment on the issue.

Abdul Muhaimin, Coordinator of the Yogyakarta-based Interfaith Brotherhood Forum dismissed the incident as a psychological tactic against the United States.

But he would strongly oppose any kind of action to force tourists to leave the town, he said.

Surakarta Police chief, Bambang Sudarisman, vowed at a press conference here on Monday that he would act firmly if any such incidents reoccurred in the city.

Meanwhile in Makassar, thousands of activists from the Jundullah Muslim Front in South Sulawesi declared on Monday that they were ready to go to Afghanistan to help the Taliban militia counter an imminent attack from the United States.

Separately, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso is planning to address a number of Islamic organizations on Tuesday. (0206/09/23/jun)