FID seeks political support from Gus Dur<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Forum for Peace (FID) met with
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid on Wednesday afternoon in an attempt
\nto obtain the President's political support for its efforts to
\nidentify the perpetrators behind the Christmas Eve bombing
\nincidents.<\/p>\n
Head of the forum's team assigned to communicate with the
\nstate apparatus, Bara Hasibuan, said the visit was also aimed at
\npersuading the government not to leave the case unsolved as has
\noccurred with previous bombing cases.<\/p>\n
\"Learning from the police's past performance in handling such
\ncases, we can see that none of them have been solved. The police
\nwill again meet stumbling blocks in their attempts to solve the
\nbombing incidents this time.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, we need a political commitment from the President
\nto help the law enforcers handle these possible obstructions,\" he
\ntold journalists in the lobby of Hotel Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He was referring to several bombing cases in Medan, North
\nSumatra, and one in the basement of the Jakarta Stock Exchange
\nbuilding late last year.<\/p>\n
A forum member, Budiman Sudjatmiko, said that during the
\nmeeting the President admitted that it is difficult to solve the
\ncase because state intelligence personnel and the police cannot
\nwork hand in hand as a united force.<\/p>\n
\"To cope with such conditions, Gus Dur said that he will
\nreorganize the State Intelligence Coordinating Body (BAKIN),
\nciting a reshuffle in the near future,\" the chairman of the
\nDemocratic People's Party said while quoting Abdurrahman by his
\nnickname.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur has given his support by also endorsing our proposal
\nfor the establishment of a joint fact-finding team with the
\ngovernment,\" he told The Jakarta Post by phone after the one-hour
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
Budiman said the fact-finding team would not only legitimize
\nthe work of the forum's investigative team, but also strengthen
\nthe will of the police to work against all odds in solving the
\ncase with the people's support.<\/p>\n
The forum members included former ministers Emil Salim and
\nMar'ie Muhammad, Catholic priests\/intellectuals Mudji Sutrisno
\nand Franz Magnis-Suseno, sociologist Imam B. Prasodjo, economist
\nFaisal Basri, artist Ratna Sarumpaet and legal activist Munir.<\/p>\n
Earlier, during a media briefing on Wednesday, Budiman said
\nthe forum had not yet revealed the results of their investigation
\nbecause they are still gathering more data.<\/p>\n
\"What we can say is that the bombings were not aimed solely at
\nterrorizing the Christians, and that although the types of bomb
\nare different in each place, the mastermind belongs to one
\ngroup ... the old regime.<\/p>\n
\"We assume that they attempted to warn the government that
\nthey still exist, and have power which they can use as a
\nbargaining tool to have the crimes in which they were involved
\nforgotten,\" Budiman said.<\/p>\n
A series of bomb explosions at churches in seven provinces on
\nChristmas Eve have killed 17 people and injured dozens of others.
\n(bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fid-seeks-political-support-from-gus-dur-1447893297",
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