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Indonesia: Heightened Jakarta Security May Hurt Provinces
July 31, 2002
Summary
The Indonesian Parliament's annual session will begin Aug. 1, and thousands of extra security personnel will be deployed to guard against potential unrest in the capitol. But, with the military and police focused most intently on Jakarta, militant groups in provinces such as Aceh may use the opportunity to step up their attacks.
Image Credit: l'Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Analysis
Indonesia's Parliament -- the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) -- will hold its annual session Aug. 1-10, wherein it will debate several contentious issues including constitutional reform and regional autonomy regulations. The potential for heightened unrest in the capitol has caused Indonesian security forces to deploy tens of thousands of personnel to Jakarta and the core surrounding provinces.
The top priority for Indonesian security during the MPR will be to maintain stability in the capitol area. This could leave some of the outlying provinces -- beset by separatist, religious and ethnic insurgencies -- less protected, encouraging militant groups to strike out. The next two weeks could be a test of the ability of Indonesia's security forces to contend with multiple, simultaneous crises across the archipelago.
Security personnel and politicians in the outlying regions are well aware of this threat, given recent increases in violence in many provinces, and have called for military and police reinforcements. But additional deployments are unlikely until after the MPR session, given that security forces in Jakarta will have their hands full. Already at least 23 groups, including the Defenders of Islam, have registered to rally around the parliament building, and many more illegal demonstrations are expected over the coming week.
(The Rest of the Story)
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Dan
Indonesia: Heightened Jakarta Security May Hurt Provinces . . .