By James Balowski

For the second time in two weeks, the armed forces' chief of social and political affairs, Syarwan Hamid, has accused the People's Democratic Party (PRD) of being behind the riots which have been rocking the country over the last year.

According to a February 14 report in the magazine SiaR, on February 5, Hamid called a meeting of representatives from no less than 83 political and social organisations to discuss what he described as a "national emergency".

He claimed that a group was using issues of social inequality to undermine confidence in the authorities. "The common thread is clear, [it is] the PRD. Although Budiman Sudjatmiko has been arrested, their network still exists. At least two times a week their writings are published. If they are brave enough to appear on the internet, that means that they are strong." he said.

Hamid also complained that the armed forces' ability to take firm action was being undermined by NGOs and the National Human Rights Commission and that in order to "cure the sickness", the "dosage would have to be increased".

A number of the participants later told SiaR that Hamid was being "overly dramatic" and that it was sections of the military elite who were actually stirring up the trouble in order to justify continued military intervention and to be given more powers.

Hamid made similar accusations in an interview with the SBS program Dateline on February 22, in which claimed that "activists linked to the PRD" were behind the riots on December 26 in Tasikmalaya, West Java.

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