Indonesian leader backs vigilantes

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's president suggested Tuesday that she supports setting up vigilante groups to help maintain order as the army fights to contain two rebellions and police struggle against rising lawlessness.

Human rights activists worried the comments could set the stage for the re-emergence of armed civilian groups like those that rampaged through East Timor in 1999, killing hundreds of people after the territory voted for independence in a U.N.-sponsored referendum.

The army is believed to have already formed a militia as an ally in Aceh, a province where a 27-year-long rebellion is raging again after a six-month truce collapsed last month.

The military has also allegedly set up smaller armed groups in Papua, another province wracked by decades of separatist war. Human rights workers have accused those militias of murdering suspected government foes and committing other atrocities.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri raised the issue of militias in a televised speech to thousands of officers celebrating National Police Day.

"The lack of numbers of security officials makes it impossible for our police and military to guarantee our citizens' security," she said. "That is why we need to seriously consider the people's request to defend themselves, especially in regions that are suffering a security disturbance."

In the past, she added, Indonesia "developed civilian defense groups."

This sprawling nation of thousands of islands and 210 million people has about 300,000 police officers and 300,000 military personnel.

Crime has been rising since the downfall of former dictator Suharto in 1998, which led to the military reducing its role in policing the civilian population.

This has led to a rise in mobs taking the law into their own hands in villages and cities, catching and punishing alleged wrongdoers themselves. Many people suspected of stealing or other crimes have been publicly killed.

Critics say the police force is incapable of maintaining order because it is understaffed and poorly equipped. The force is also allegedly rife with corruption.

"The responsibility of internal security should always lie with police, and if the police force is weak, the answer is strengthening the police force, not having added non-uniformed civilians," said Charmain Mohamed, a researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The U.S. government has criticized Indonesia's human rights record. It cut military ties after the violence in East Timor and has said relations won't be restored until the Indonesian army shows greater respect for human rights.