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)