TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) headquarters are ready to help secure the announcement of the Constitutional Court (MK) ruling on the presidential election dispute slated for Thursday. TNI commanders will direclty inspect the preparedness of all tropps across Indonesia.
“Today, commanders held a teleconference with all troops (Army, Navy and Air Force) across Indonesia, especially Java Island and Jakarta,” said TNI headquarters spokesman Maj. Gen. M. Fuad Basya on Wednesday.
Fuad said the TNI’s security assistance would be similar to that of during the campaign, election and election result announcement by the General Elections Commission (KPU). He added some 30,000 TNI troops had been loaned to the police, but only 23,000 of them that had been mobilized.
“So there are still 7,000 reserve personnel, excluding reserves from special forces such as Kopassus, Marines, and Korpaskhas,” he said.
Fuad said the TNI still upheld its neutrality and believed there would not be any rioting during and after the ruling announcement as both presidential candidates were law-abiding citizens.
At least 2,000 die-hard supporters of Prabowo-Hatta will reportedly march to MK building to stagea protest on Thursday. Based on the Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center’s (TMC) report, all supporters will come tomorrow before the trial kicks off.
Prabowo supporters will start arriving at the MK building at 9.00 a.m. and will disband in the afternoon at 4.00 p.m.
INDRA WIJAYA
