Rioters were not PDI activists, Soerjadi says

Rioters were not PDI activists, Soerjadi says

JAKARTA (JP): The government-backed chief of the Indonesian
Democratic Party, (PDI) Soerjadi, refuted charges yesterday he
triggered the July 27 to July 28 massive riots in the capital.

He also claimed that he was not helped by the military to take
over the party headquarters on July 27, which led to the city's
worst rioting in over 20 years.

"Do you think there was any correlation between the
headquarters takeover and the riots? The rioters were not PDI
members," he told newsmen after meeting with Vice President Try
Sutrisno.

Soerjadi said he mobilized 2,000 of his supporters to take
over the headquarters, located on Jl. Diponegoro, from the
control of his rival Megawati Soekarnoputri, who still claims she
is the legitimate party chief.

As of news that Armed Forces members were involved, he said
that he "notified security authorities" on his intention to
invade the party office.

The bloody takeover was followed by two days of massive riots
in which at least three people died, dozens of buildings --
including seven banks -- were badly damaged, dozens of people
were injured, more than 200 were arrested and many reportedly
went missing.

Military officials have also claimed that the takeover
involved "Soerjadi's supporters" and that the authorities only
helped secure the headquarters after Megawati's supporters were
evicted.

Meanwhile, Vice President Try Sutrisno warned the nation
against being trapped in attitudes which could create divisions
in society.

Try told Soerjadi and other party executive board members that
PDI members should refrain from using violence in resolving their
internal conflict.

Violence, he said could be exploited by interest groups to
undermine the nation's stability.

Separately, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy
(Elsam) questioned Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen.
Sutiyoso's order for troops to shoot rioters on the spot.

Elsam executive director Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said
that the government has encouraged repressive measures that
violate the principle of presumption of innocence.

Abdul Hakim said the shoot-on-the-spot order should have been
made by the President in a state of emergency. "This measure is
inconsistent with the government's policy to promote a sense of
security."

Elsam urged the government to revoke the order on the grounds
that it was in violation of an international convention on the
use of force and firearms by public officials.

In the Central Java capital of Semarang, 17 Moslem
organizations expressed their concern over the riots.

The head of the Central Java branch of the Indonesian Ulemas
Council on behalf of the other organizations said the riotous
acts were a clear violation of law and religious values.

"We support the actions of ABRI (the Armed Forces) in dealing
with those who wish to disrupt national stability and societal
order," Sahal Mahfudh said.

"We also call on everyone to beware of organizations or
movements which have been infiltrated by communist influences,"
he added.

The commander of the Diponegoro military command in Central
Java, Maj. Gen. Subagyo, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that he
would not be lenient in acting against groups who wished to
manipulate the commotion within the PDI ranks.

"If you know of PRD (Democratic People's Party) activities,
please don't hesitate to inform us. We'll pursue them wherever
they run to," he said.

Nevertheless, Subagyo believed that in Central Java, it was
not yet necessary to issue the shoot-on-site command as
proclaimed in Jakarta two days ago.

More indignation against the PRD came from Attorney General
Singgih, who told the Post that it was against Pancasila, the
state ideology.

"In fact, after investigating it, we found that the PRD is an
organization without a license," he said. (har/mds/pan)