Thirty PP members charged

JAKARTA (JP): City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata said yesterday 26 more members of Pemuda Pancasila (PP) have been charged with vandalism, bringing the total to 30.

Hamami said the case would be processed according to the law.

The West Jakarta police precinct had announced Monday that only four of those questioned about the vandalizing of five billiard centers in the Duta Mas complex, Grogol, West Jakarta, were suspects.

Hamami said the questioning had run smoothly and no outsiders had tried to interfere.

The attacks on the complex by at least 60 people, wearing PP's black-and-red-striped military-style uniforms, happened Sunday afternoon.

The group from PP's Jelambar, West Jakarta, branch was led by Zainal Arifin Lubis. Antara reported that the group had asked a private television station to cover the raids.

Lubis said the raids were in line with the people's wish to eliminate gambling. PP members in particular felt very strongly about it, he said.

He said the local authorities were not warned about the planned raids.

According to City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Aritonang, the suspects said the raid was not coordinated by PP's central board of executives.

Aritonang said the police did not condone arbitrary and destructive action. "We welcome the public's participation in helping the police fight crime. But that does not mean they can be violent," Aritonang said.

City Military Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoedin said Monday that PP was not authorized to raid the complex.

Separately, Maulana Isman, chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI), said yesterday that KNPI was against any arbitrary action.

KNPI would not let this happen, he was quoted by Antara as saying at President Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana.

"We will ask PP's executive boards about the incident," Maulana said.

PP and KNPI are influential youth organizations affiliated to the dominant Golkar. (sur)