Vaudine England, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday ordered the arrest of the police chief he has been trying to sack for weeks, widening the struggle over his impeachment by raising fresh allegations of politicking by the police.
Mr Wahid ordered officials to "take firm legal action against those guilty of insubordination", including national police chief General Suroyo Bimantoro. Presidential spokesman Adhie Massardi said Jakarta's police chief, General Sofyan Yacob, might also face detention over an alleged plot to arrest the President.
General Bimantoro is thought to be in Singapore for medical tests and his arrest is unlikely. Dozens of heavily armed police backed by armoured cars gathered outside his house last night in a show of defiance to Mr Wahid.
Mr Wahid was said to be angered by a meeting of retired police officers and lawyers on Wednesday that called on the Supreme Court to hold a judicial review to declare Mr Wahid's bid to sack General Bimantoro illegal.
The arrest order follows a week of division within police ranks, a fortnight ahead of a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) that aims to impeach Mr Wahid. In an unprecedented move, more than 150 middle-ranking police officers met on Monday to call on General Bimantoro to follow Mr Wahid's order to step down. "This matter has confused middle-ranking officers because General Bimantoro should actually submit to the President's orders ... but this is something he has not done. Instead, he is defying presidential orders," a senior commander, Alfon, told the meeting.
"I stress that this meeting is not being held to defy our superior officer [General Bimantoro], but there are rules and regulations that need to be followed." Another officer, senior commander Salikhin, said: "We, the members of the National Police, will not tolerate the political intervention of the House of Representatives (DPR). The National Police chief is directly subordinate to the President, and not the DPR." The next day, senior police admitted they had no prior knowledge of the middle-ranking officers' meeting. General Bimantoro took a 10-day leave of absence, with his backers claiming he remained in charge.
Police announced that General Bimantoro's duties would be taken over by National Police deputy chief General Chaeruddin Ismail – the man chosen by Mr Wahid to replace the general. The day after General Bimantoro went on leave, scores of officers received promotions that Mr Wahid's staff claim were due months ago and had nothing to do with Monday's meeting.
The DPR has supported General Bimantoro. DPR members say changes to police or military command must go through Parliament and that Mr Wahid has overridden proper procedure. Mr Wahid says the August 1 special assembly session of the MPR is illegal, but police and army officers intend to "secure the session", in support of Parliament's right to impeach the President.