Police, TNI to Prevent Mass Mobilizing to Jakarta, Says Wiranto
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17 May 2019 11:48 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto requested both regional military commanders (Pangdam) and regional police chiefs (Kapolda) to actively prevent masses of people from entering Jakarta on May 22.
May 22 will be the day that the General Elections Commission (KPU) announces the final vote recapitulation regarding the 2019 presidential election.
Strong info leaked upon large groups of people affiliated to presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto that they plan to hold a rally during the announcement at the KPU and Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) headquarters.
“In order to prevent buildup [in the city], I ordered Pangdam and Kapolda to prevent people from traveling to Jakarta. Solve the problem there,” said Wiranto at the Hotel Paragon Jakarta on Thursday, May 16.
Moreover, Wiranto stated he issued orders for the police and Indonesian armed forces to not be equipped with long rifles in the upcoming crucial day and surprisingly mentioned one of Indonesia’s bleakest moments in history.
“Unlike in 1998, rifles were used with blank ammunition. The opponent used live ammunition that killed people. It will not be like that later, keep your firearms. Just use sticks. That is if it’s needed,” said Wiranto.
DEWI NURITA
