ABRI needs time: Habibie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie is asking for the
\npublic's patience to allow the Armed Forces (ABRI) to conduct
\n\"internal consolidation\" and thorough investigations into the
\nrecent highly publicized occurrences of the Trisakti shootings,
\ndisappearances of political activists and widespread riots.<\/p>\n
Members of the National Commission on Human Rights, speaking
\nafter a more than two-hour-long meeting with Habibie yesterday,
\nsaid the President acknowledged that the credibility of his
\ngovernment depended heavily on the resolution of the cases.<\/p>\n
He requested the public's patience in the meantime, saying
\nthat he had ordered Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto and other
\ntop brass to uncover the truth.<\/p>\n
\"'Give ABRI an opportunity to conclude its internal
\nconsolidation'. That was the President's statement,\" commission
\ndeputy chairman Marzuki Darusman told media after the meeting,
\nattended by 13 members of his organization.<\/p>\n
Marzuki did not elaborate on what the President meant by
\n\"internal consolidation\".<\/p>\n
But he added that, \"we are now beginning to understand that
\nthe resolution of the (mystery of the) missing people, the
\nTrisakti incident and the riots are strongly related to ABRI's
\ninternal consolidation\".<\/p>\n
When journalists pressed him to elaborate on the meaning of
\nthe term, Marzuki replied: \"It has a broad meaning. I hope that
\nwe can just understand\".<\/p>\n
He said the commission warned Habibie that his government
\nwould be dogged by a lack of credibility if it failed to put to
\nrest questions about the incidents.<\/p>\n
Public attention has been riveted to the series of shocking
\nincidents, which began with the mysterious disappearances of
\nseveral activists and opposition figures.<\/p>\n
The commission concluded they were kidnapped by a well-
\norganized group.<\/p>\n
Several months of vocal but peaceful student demonstrations
\nwere shattered when four Trisakti University students were shot
\nto death outside their West Jakarta campus on May 12.<\/p>\n
Habibie met with parents of the slain students Monday and
\ncalled their sons \"reform heroes\".<\/p>\n
Eighteen police officers, allegedly responsible for firing on
\nthe students, are currently facing a military tribunal. However,
\nnone is charged for direct involvement in the students' death,
\nbut instead for committing an undisciplined act.<\/p>\n
The nation suffered another trauma during an orgy of looting
\nand violence which followed the Trisakti shooting.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces put the death toll from the four days of
\nmayhem at 499 in Greater Jakarta alone.<\/p>\n
But the commission announced its findings recently that at
\nleast 1,118 people died, most of them alleged looters who
\nperished in burning shopping centers.<\/p>\n
In a meeting with 151 senior Armed Forces officers on June 11,
\nthe President ordered them to investigate allegations that an
\norganized group had incited people to burn and loot buildings
\nthroughout the country last month.<\/p>\n
\"The public's impression is that the slow handling of these
\ncases is related to ABRI's internal consolidations,\" Marzuki
\nnoted.<\/p>\n
During their meeting yesterday, Habibie also briefed
\ncommission members on the progress of his effort to democratize
\nthe country, which includes the ratification of the United
\nNations' conventions on antidiscrimination and antitorture.<\/p>\n
Commission members praised Habibie's efforts to protect press
\nfreedom and assure better protection for laborers by allowing
\nthem to set up their own organizations.<\/p>\n
\"We noted this as impressive progress,\" Marzuki said. (prb)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abri-needs-time-habibie-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }