Tension clouds MPR session

Tension clouds MPR session

JAKARTA (JP): One Jakarta resident said she has warned most of
her relatives here to stay at home throughout the Special Session
of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) from Nov. 10 through
Nov. 13 because she is afraid of unrest.

"I am thinking of keeping my daughter away from school because
what if there's a riot sparked by the session?" she said,
pointing to media reports that over 25,000 military personnel
bolstered by 125,000 civilian recruits have been deployed to
safeguard the session of the 1,000-strong legislature.

The worry that demonstrations planned by both supporters and
opponents of the session will degenerate into full blown unrest
is certainly understandable given that the wounds left by the May
riots have yet to start healing.

Respectable observers such as Rudini and Nurcholish Madjid
have both spoken of the possibility of unrest and even bloodshed
during the session.

Among those worried by the prospect of renewed unrest on
Saturday were a group of pedicab drivers, public transport
drivers, roadside vendors and scavengers in the Central Java
capital of Semarang. In a press statement, they urged various
interest groups to cease arguing over the session.

"Please, no more conflicting opinions about the session, much
less the deployment of masses of people that could lead to
clashes and bring suffering to the small people," spokesman Hari
Subagyo was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.

The scavengers and drivers called on legislators to draft
policies that absorb the people's aspirations so that their
suffering could be eased.

Aspirations. That's the catchword of the day. Legitimacy.
That's another.

Politicians, observers, laymen and journalists through their
editorials have been asking whether the session really is
necessary. Is it legitimate? Will it be successful and
accommodate the people's aspirations. The biggest question is
whether there will be a showdown between those who support it and
those against it.

Those in favor say that only with the session -- which will
revoke an earlier decree on elections -- will the country be able
to hold a fair and democratic general election. Armed Forces
Commander Gen. Wiranto has described it as the only gate toward
democratization.

Those against, however, see it as a ploy designed to give
President B.J. Habibie more time to strengthen his position. "If
this is a meeting of people's representatives, why these extreme
security measures?" one said. Some groups have even spoken about
forcing Habibie to step down before the session commences.

It was following expression of these conflicting opinions that
rumors spread of impending clashes between protests and counter-
protests during the Special Session.

In Yogyakarta, Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, warned
community leaders against exploiting young people and deploying
them either to support or oppose the session.

"If clashes take place, leaders must shoulder the blame," he
said on Saturday. "Don't deploy civilians to secure the
session ... (as it will) pit one group against the other."

Former student activist Moh. Jumhur Hidayat has said he is
confident that protesting students will not be able to force the
session to a premature end. Activists opposed to the session will
be outnumbered by those in favor, he said in a recent interview.

Forces

National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi has acknowledged
that an incessant wave of demonstrations will greet the Special
Session.

"There will be no days without demonstrations. The tension is
mounting all the time. The most important thing is for the
protesters to express their demands in an orderly manner and to
avoid clashes," he said.

The Armed Forces headquarters, which is responsible for
coordinating security measures, has made provisions to thwart any
efforts to prevent the event from taking place.

A total of 4,500 troops are stationed within and around the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)/House of Representatives
(DPR) compound.

Marines, elite Paskhasau troops from the Air Force, the Police
Mobile Brigade and troops from the Army's Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad) have been deployed inside and outside the
complex.

The Army's Engineer Regiment, Artillery Squad and Cavalry are
also included in the force. Troops have also been deployed close
to the presidential palaces and business and trading centers.

To help police the event, the Mobile Brigade has purchased a
US$1 million monitoring vehicle with a zoom-in camera capable of
crowd surveillance at a distance of up to 500 meters.

Four Mobile Brigade water cannons and five armored vehicles
are also on standby at the front and back entrances to the
House/Assembly complex 24 hours a day.

The National Police Gegana Bomb Squad has deployed 500 men, 10
bomb disposal vehicles and two EOD (Explosive Ordained Disposal)
cars to help safeguard the congress.

In addition, Antara reported that 15 warships have been made
ready along with six aircraft and helicopters, two police patrol
boats, and another two patrol boats from the coast and sea guard
units.

Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Widodo A.S. said he saw no
threats to the MPR special session from the sea, but "we have to
remain alert because any peace disturbance on the sea may also
affect security on land if it is ignored."

The ships involved include a submarine, a corvette, a frigate,
a fast patrol boat, a coastal patrol boat and a landing ship
tanker.

Security precautions have also been extended to individual
legislators. The Armed Forces headquarters does not want to see a
repeat of the events of 1967, when several legislators failed to
arrive at the Assembly building on time because of a flat tire.

One member of the Armed Forces has been deployed to accompany
each of the 1,000 legislators in and around the legislature
building at all times. Provisions have also been made to
guarantee the security of members of the regional representatives
faction from the minute they arrive at the airport in Jakarta.

Agenda

Debate has continued to rage over the legitimacy of the
session and its agenda, which includes the deliberation and
adoption of 12 decrees.

Constitutional law professor Harun Alrasyid said the Special
Session's agenda was inappropriate. "The session agenda should
only include discussion of the presidential election because the
post has been vacant for a certain period of time."

"The Special Session can also be used to ask an outgoing
president to give an accountability statement," he said.

"A Special Session can also be used to hold a referendum on
certain issues," he added.

Indria Samego, a political analyst at the National Institute
of Science (LIPI), said the Assembly should have been more
responsive to the people's aspirations regarding the session
agenda.

"People have demanded that former president Soeharto be held
accountable for his past mistakes. They also demanded that the
Armed Forces should not sit in the House of Representatives any
longer."

"Unfortunately the Assembly has made no positive response to
these calls," he said.

Another constitutional law professor, Yusril Ihza Mahendra,
suggested that the Assembly should be made to listen to people's
aspirations.

"Only through pressure will Assembly members change the
agenda," he said.

In contrast to Harun, Yusril contended that a Special Session
of the Assembly was entitled to discuss anything it wanted. (team)