Syarwan defends ABRI's handling of election riots

Syarwan defends ABRI's handling of election riots

JAKARTA (JP): The military refused yesterday to take the blame
for the trail of election violence that hit parts of the country
in May.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen.
Syarwan Hamid said it was "unfair" to suggest that the riots,
including one in the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin
which claimed 123 lives, had occurred because the military had
been unprepared.

"It's unfair to blame it all on ABRI," Syarwan told a seminar
at the State Administration Institute. A participant had alleged
that a major cause of the riots had been an unprepared military.

"We don't have the authority. Our soldiers were actually
putting their lives on the line (during the riots). We are
understaffed and inadequately equipped," he said.

Unrest hit parts of Java's densely populated provinces. It was
mostly triggered by clashes between the government-backed Golkar
party and the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP). On
several occasions, angry crowds set fire to local government and
military offices.

But the most destructive riot was in Banjarmasin on May 23,
the last day of campaigning. Scores of buildings, including
houses, hotels, shops and places of worship, were burned down.
The bodies of 123 victims were found in a gutted department
store.

Some have said that there were only about 250 police officers
in Banjarmasin to face about 50,000 rioters when the trouble
started. Security forces, with reinforcements flown in from Java,
took several hours to restore order in the city.

Political observer M. Budyatna of the University of Indonesia
had said earlier that, during the riots, troops had often stood
back while waiting for orders which sometimes had come too late.

"If it's true that ABRI knew the sites of the riots were like
dry grass, why didn't they prepare more water? I believe that
ABRI was indeed caught off guard," said the dean of the
university's School of Social and Political Sciences.

Syarwan said the Armed Forces had spent months preparing for
the May 29 election.

"But if you say we failed to anticipate the riots, you have to
remember that all the places hit by riots were like dry grass
which was set alight with only one little match thrown in," he
said.

"But you can see that we succeeded in containing the riots so
that they didn't spread out to other areas," he said.

Antara reported that the Banjarmasin District Court sentenced
three people yesterday to jail terms ranging from one year to
nine months for their involvement in the riot.

The three, identified only as SL, Dam and Muk, were found
guilty of carrying sharp weapons without permits. The three were
the first group to be sentenced among the 119 standing trial over
the riot. The session was presided over by BF Siregar, Antara
reported. (35/swe)