Arrest plan leaves many baffled again<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid left the nation
\nbaffling again with his disclosure on Saturday that he has
\nsanctioned the police to arrest legislators whom he accused of
\nbeing the source of many of Indonesia's current troubles.<\/p>\n
But as the President left the names and their specific crimes
\nvague, he kept the nation's political elite busy throughout
\nSunday speculating as to who exactly he was referring to.<\/p>\n
Some pointed to Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Fuad Bawazier, two
\nministers who served the corrupt regime of president Soeharto and
\nare now members of the People's Consultative Assembly. Others
\nsuggested that the President could be targeting at Assembly
\nchairman Amien Rais and House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, both of
\nwhom are now among his most staunchest critics.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur's revelation came after earlier accusations that the
\nMaluku violence was the work of supporters of Soeharto aimed at
\nkeeping Indonesia constantly unstable.<\/p>\n
Akbar, who also chairs Golkar party, for one refused to
\nspeculate, at least not in public.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know the reasons behind his approval for the police
\nto arrest several legislators. I will call Gus Dur for an
\nexplanation,\" Akbar was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
\"I don't even know the names of the legislators,\" Akbar said
\nin Palu, Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped the investigation was not part of the
\npresident's effort to silence outspoken legislators, for it would
\nundermine Indonesia's nascent democracy.<\/p>\n
Akbar said the planned police investigation should have
\nnothing to do with the House's vote last week to summon the
\nPresident for questioning over the sacking of two members of his
\neconomic team, Laksamana Sukardi and Jusuf Kalla, in April.<\/p>\n
He said the summons, permitted under the House's
\ninterpellation right, was not aimed at impeaching Gus Dur as
\noften speculated by political pundits.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Sumargono from the Crescent and Star Party (PBB) urged
\nthe President to supply evidence to back up his accusation that
\nthe source of Indonesia's political conflicts came from the House
\nor the Assembly.<\/p>\n
\"If Gus Dur cannot come up with the evidence, then his
\naccusation was merely a political ploy,\" Ahmad said. \"In that
\ncase, he is not all different from Soeharto,\" Sumargono, who
\nchairs the PBB's House faction, told reporters.<\/p>\n
Ahmad too was in the dark about the legislators to be
\nquestioned by the police or about the charges against them.<\/p>\n
Speaking to participants of the National Dialog Forum in
\nDenpasar, Bali, on Saturday, Abdurrahman revealed that he has
\ngiven his approval to a police request to investigate several
\nlegislators.<\/p>\n
\"I have signed the letter for a number of members of the House
\nand the Assembly to be summoned because there is enough
\nevidence,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A presidential permission is required for the police to
\ninvestigate members of the House or the Assembly.<\/p>\n
But the President, who has to present an annual progress
\nreport to the Assembly in August, said many of the political
\nchaos in Indonesia today were the work of some members of the
\nAssembly or the House.<\/p>\n
\"It's difficult to find evidence. But when we can get it, the
\nproblem of this country will be over,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also accused some legislators of engineering corruption
\ncharges against him to remove him from office, including their
\ninitiative to use the House's interpellation rights against him.<\/p>\n
\"Some legislators are using the interpellation right to topple
\nme. Some are just exercising their political right, and I
\nunderstand and respect them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim
\norganization and a close confidante of the President, said he was
\naware that the police were currently investigating some
\nlegislators but he refused to disclose names.<\/p>\n
\"The police need the president's permission to question
\nlegislators,\" he told reporters while attending a gathering of
\nthe Muslim's Justice Party.<\/p>\n
He declined to confirm whether Fuad Bawazier, a former finance
\nminister, is one of those to be questioned, but added that rumors
\nabout Fuad did not originate from Gus Dur.<\/p>\n
Fuad, who was attending the same gathering, called the
\naccusation against him slanderous and nonsense.<\/p>\n
He rejected the accusation that he had financed the operation
\nof the Jihad Force, although he admitted that he had given
\ndonations to religious organizations.<\/p>\n
The Jihad Force has sent thousands Muslim volunteers to
\nMaluku, a province racked by sectarian violence these last 18
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
\"I don't finance illegal activities, such as the procurement
\nof fire arms or other activities against the government,\" Fuad
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ginandjar, who served as an economic minister for Soeharto and
\nlater for President B.J. Habibie until October, denied on Friday
\nthe accusations that he was the \"provocateur\" behind many of the
\nviolent clashes in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not a political hoodlum. I always tow the line of my
\nGolkar party,\" he said. (zen\/dja\/jun)<\/p>",
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