Soeharto's guard briefs vendors

JAKARTA (JP): A bodyguard of former president Soeharto told vendors operating near his residency on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta, to gather at a house in the neighborhood for a briefing on Saturday morning.

"You have to come right now. There is a briefing," he told a cigarette vendor at the corner of Jl. Cendana and Jl. Tanjung.

"All vendors around here, Sir?" the vendor asked the yellow batik-clad man.

"Yes, all," said the man, who drove a sedan.

It was 9 a.m., and several journalists, including those from Japan television NHK, were there to monitor the situation in the area.

"I don't know why. It is unusual that we, vendors, are summoned," a cigarette vendor told Antara.

There are about a dozen vendors selling cigarettes, snacks and drinks along Jl. Cendana.

It was not clear what the briefing was about. But the vendor said later that they were asked to clean the house, "just like what we do every Saturday."

Journalists have been watching over Soeharto's place, on Jl. Cendana 8, since Thursday, as there were reports that the former president would be questioned last week by a team led by Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib. However, tight security prevents them from getting close to the house. They could only monitor the house from about a 50-meter distance. (sim)