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)