Wiranto defends security volunteers

Wiranto defends security volunteers

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces
(ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto justified the use of civilian
security guards on Wednesday and said they would not have been
recruited if there had not been threats to disrupt the Special
Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

"They wouldn't have been recruited had there been no threat to
the session," Wiranto said before attending the Assembly's second
plenary session.

Wiranto was speaking about the much-criticized presence of
thousands of volunteers who patrolled the city in trucks on
Tuesday, many of whom were armed with bamboo spears and other
weapons, including swords. They were seen yelling insults and
throwing rocks at student protesters, hitting civilians on
several occasions.

However, Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman on
Wednesday pledged to pull all civilian security volunteers away
from the vicinity of the Assembly building.

"We will take the volunteers away from the legislative
assembly building because they appear to pose a danger to other
civilians," Noegroho was quoted as saying by Antara after making
a brief inspection of security arrangements at the complex.

He said the volunteer force would instead be temporarily
deployed to guard shopping centers and office buildings. He did
not elaborate.

On Wednesday evening, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen.
Togar M. Sianipar said in a statement that the police had not
ordered precinct chiefs to mobilize civilians.

Sianipar also said that National Police chief Lt. Gen.
Roesmanhadi had made it clear that demonstrators must not bring
sharp weapons with them.

He reiterated that civilians had volunteered out of concern
after hearing reports that the session was under threat from a
number of groups opposed to it.

Police have also "introduced order" to the groups of civilians
who initially staged demonstrations in support of the session but
later went on to undertake "activities which were against the
law", Sianipar said.

Among those who have voiced harsh criticism at the deployment
of civilians are the independent Commission for Missing Persons
and Victims of Violence (Kontras), politicians Amien Rais and
Matori Abdul Djalil, and a number of international human rights
groups.

"Mobilizing 125,000 largely untrained civilians against
thousands of student protesters just doubles the problem," Human
Rights Watch said in a fax dated Nov. 10.

"Who is going to guard the guards," the New York-based rights
watchdog said.

The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH)
said two civilian youth groups mobilized -- the Pemuda Panca
Marga and the Pemuda Pancasila -- had been implicated in past
outbreaks of violence that have since been linked to the
government.

"Far from reassuring the population, they are making people
nervous," the FIDH said.

Matori, the chairman of the National Awakening Party, said the
use of vigilantes showed contempt for the people.

Amien, who leads the National Mandate Party, called for the
vigilante groups to be disbanded.

"The Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander has the golden opportunity
to show the people that he is sensitive to their demands," he
said.

Deploying civilians is tantamount to pitting brother against
brother and it's dangerous, he said.

Kontras added to calls to withdraw the armed civilian guards
in a media conference here on Wednesday. Coordinator Munir said
the deployment of thousands of civilian guards under the pretext
of safeguarding the session was an attempt to create conflict in
society.

He accused the authorities, especially the police, of
"systematically" and "intentionally" recruiting and organizing
the deployment of civilian guards from a number of towns in
Central and West Java.

Separately, leaders of the Muslim Forum to Uphold the
Constitution and Justice (Furkon) said from their office in the
Grand Mosque Istiqlal that they had organized the civilian guards
to protect the ongoing Special Session from being disrupted by
those opposed to it.

"Furkon believes that the Special Session is the only bridge
that will lead to the constitutional implementation of the reform
agenda," chairman Komaruddin Rachmat said.

He noted the presence of groups claiming to be students who
have openly declared they intend to disrupt the proceedings of
the session.

"They even mobilized the masses near the legislative assembly
building. Thus, we state firmly that Furkon will not back off
until the groups who wants to foil the session stop their
actions," he said.

He apologized to the public for the "unsympathetic" behavior
of some Furkon members deployed to safeguard the session, adding
that sharpened bamboo poles brandished by its members were not
spears but flag poles.

Another leader, Faisal Biki, said: "I fear the guards have
been infiltrated by those who want to stir up trouble. That is
always a possibility."

Meanwhile, Antara reported that Embay Mulya Syarif, the leader
of the Banten People for Reform, had called home 3,000 volunteer
security guards who traveled from Banten to Jakarta to safeguard
the session. He said they had been infiltrated by men armed with
spears and machetes. (team)