Sutiyoso to be protested over role in July 27 incident

JAKARTA (JP): At least 5,000 people plan to take to the streets here on Monday, in protest against the alleged involvement of Governor Sutiyoso in the violent takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters here on July 27, 1996, a coordinator of a protest group said on Sunday.

Sutiyoso was the Jakarta military commander at the time.

M. Roco Sinaga of the Pro-Reform Jakarta People (MPR Jakarta) said that Sutiyoso was definitely involved in the violent takeover.

"We plan to start the protest at 11 a.m., starting from City Hall and the City Council and ending at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle," Roco said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

In the rioting that ensued after the violent takeover of the party headquarters, at least -- according to the official data -- two people were killed and 26 others injured, leaving 22 buildings badly damaged, including seven banks and an agriculture ministry building. Some 91 vehicles, including 5 buses and two motorcycles were burned.

However, there were varying accounts of fatalities, with some sources saying the number ranged from between three to 46 in the attack.

Attack

Separately, hundreds of angry residents on Friday night attacked a rented house used as a massage parlor and a food stall used for prostitution on Jl. Benda Raya in Pegadungan, West Jakarta.

No fatalities or injuries were recorded but the incident forced Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman, West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Adjie Rustam Ramdja and chief of the local Kalideres Police subprecinct Maj. Sudirman to inspect the site.

Officers are still counting the losses. The owner of the rented house, Agus Salim, 52, and the food stall, Saman, 51, were immediately brought in for questioning at the Kalideres Police precinct.

According to Adjie, Agus's rented house was leased by pimps who offered sex services to customers visiting the massage parlor.

"The prostitutes not only gave massages, but also extra services for less than Rp 125,000 per client," the officer told reporters.

The mob which carried out the act of vandalism were local Kamal residents and from the nearby Tangerang area.

"They stormed the area starting from 10:30 p.m. on Friday," Adjie said.

The locals, he said, had known about the real business of both the massage parlor and food stall for quite a long time.

"When the residents attacked, the parlor was closed. But the women who worked at the parlor were still conducting their business outside.

Residents became very angry, since the holy month of Ramadhan is still ongoing," Adjie said. (ylt)