President to lead ceremony

President to lead ceremony

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has agreed to lead
the National Police's 55th anniversary ceremony at Bhayangkara
Field in South Jakarta on Sunday.

After a meeting at the presidential palace on Saturday,
National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said he had visited
Abdurrahman to request that he lead the ceremony.

"He said he would, but in the case of an emergency, Vice
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will do it," Bimantoro said, as
quoted by Antara.

Bimantoro, who was accompanied by National Police deputy chief
Comr. Gen. Chaeruddin Ismail at his meeting with the President,
will be the field commander at the ceremony.

Also scheduled to attend the ceremony are First Lady Shinta
Nuriyah, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her husband,
legislator Taufik Kiemas, and Indonesian Military Commander
Widodo A.S.

The ceremony will be highlighted by a parade of troops and a
weapon display.

The event on Sunday is expected to be an ice breaker for
Abdurrahman and Bimantoro.

There has been tension within the ranks of the National Police
since Abdurrahman suspended Bimantoro after the latter defied a
presidential order to resign.

Abdurrahman then suspended Bimantoro and appointed Chaeruddin
to take over Bimantoro's duties.

The dual leadership has also created rivalry between different
graduation classes of the police academy.

Earlier on Saturday, however, both Bimantoro and Chaeruddin
denied there was any rivalry.

Bimantoro led a tribute to national heroes at Kalibata Heroes
Cemetery in South Jakarta. Chaeruddin arrived later and both then
cleaned the graves of dead police officers.

"We're getting along just fine. It's the media that gives out
the impression that we're rivals," Chaeruddin asserted.

Bimantoro voiced the same view, adding that the most important
thing is to maintain unity within the National Police corps.(hdn)