VP defends paramilitary groups

VP defends paramilitary groups

JAKARTA: Vice President Hamzah Haz said that the paramilitary
groups affiliated to the various political parties were
necessary, but they needed to change their military-style
approach to a moral one.

Hamzah, chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), said
on Tuesday that such groups had to avoid violence in achieving
their objectives.

He was responding to a statement from Minister of Defense
Matori Abdul Djalil that paramilitary groups affiliated to
political parties needed to be dissolved.

Hamzah, whose party controls a number of paramilitary groups,
including the Ka'bah Youth Movement (GPK), the Ka'bah Youths
(AMK), and the Ka'bah Brigade, said that the groups were allowed
to wear military-style attire. The Indonesian Military has asked
all paramilitary groups not to dress in military outfits for fear
of causing abuses.

The Vice President added that the party's paramilitary groups
could continue to play a useful role in maintaining security
during mass gatherings held outside Islamic boarding schools. --
Antara