Tangerang deploys 600 troops for polls

TANGERANG (JP): At least 600 troops and police officers will be deployed to ensure security during campaigning and voting in the June 7 poll here, a military official said on Friday.

Tangerang Military District Commander Lt. Col. Meris Wiryadi said the 400 soldiers and 200 police officers would remain on duty from May 19, the first day of the campaign, until the General Assembly of the People's Consultative Assembly in October.

"I've handed over my 400 personnel to the police," Meris said, adding that soldiers included in the force were from a cavalry battalion in Serpong, the Air Force special force, the 203rd battalion and other units.

Meris said he has asked 17 hospitals in the area to give free first-aid treatment to wounded supporters of all political parties contesting the general election.

"There are no funds for health care, therefore we ask that the 17 hospitals do their best to help the public," he said.

Wounded civilians, he said, would first be sent to Tangerang hospitals, while soldiers would be rushed to the Army's Gatot Subroto Hospital in Jakarta, a 45-minute drive from Tangerang.

Unlike in many areas, the Tangerang military district has yet to name places thought to be vulnerable to rioting during the campaign period and voting day, Meris said.

He said he hoped that political parties would not send large numbers of their supporters out onto the streets in boisterous convoys.

He added that his office had no plans to put extra troops on duty at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport given that no significant increase in the number of passengers passing through the airport has been recorded in the run up to campaigning.

"The situation is still normal. But we have placed officers to monitor the situation at the airport," he added.

Meanwhile, Tangerang Mayor M. Thamrin said on Friday that his administration planned to conduct a joint campaign with the local chapters of political parties to try to maintain unity between their respective sets of supporters.

He said some areas near Jakarta would be vulnerable to rioting, but said that he had met with local residents in these areas in an attempt to ensure good relations as the campaign and polling day draw nearer. (41/jun)