Recent violence blamed on govt
JAKARTA (JP): The government's inconsistent treatment of the parties has caused people to fight in the streets, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation said yesterday.
"The government has accused the political parties and the public of violating election law. In fact, the government and its apparatus have also violated the law," said foundation chairman Bambang Widjojanto.
Election law stated that the government should hold the election without bias, but the government was favoring Golkar, he said. In despair, people had vented their anger in wild street rallies and resorted to violence.
Fighting has broken out in towns across the country in recent days. Most clashes have involved supporters of Golkar and the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP).
Tens of thousands of supporters of both parties threw stones at each other in Jakarta on Sunday, with groups of youths roaming parts of the city well into the night.
"The government has harvested bad fruits with its action," said Munir, the foundation's operational secretary.
Bambang said that by May 14 the foundation's branches around the country had recorded at least 28 cases of the government or security forces violating election law by using terror, intimidation, torture or other means to get people to vote for a particular party.
Security personnel had intimidated people out of attending two of the parties' rallies and beaten those bearing paraphernalia carrying the words "Mega-bintang", he said.
"Mega-bintang" is supposed to represent an alliance between the ousted chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, and the PPP. Bintang (star) is the PPP's symbol.
Megawati was ousted as PDI chairperson by government-backed party members at a congress in July last year.
"Mega-bintang" attributes, which have been banned by the government, are distributed by Megawati's supporters taking part in PPP rallies.
Bambang said the foundation had recorded nine cases of the government stopping political parties campaigning.
He said a subdistrict chief in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, had stopped the PDI and PPP campaigning in six villages.
Bambang said the government's prejudice had angered people.
"The presence of security guards who normally make people feel safe have instead made people scared," he said.
Bambang said the public would continue to fight during campaigning "unless there was a guarantee that the election would be organized with fairness and honesty and that there would be no power abuse". (jsk)