Golkar official defends ABRI over allegations on riots<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Attempts to implicate the Armed Forces (ABRI) in
\nthe recent flurry of riots is naive, a deputy chief of the ruling
\nGolkar party Pinantun Hutasoit said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Hutasoit said ABRI had been the most consistent defender of
\nthe unitary state since Indonesia proclaimed independence in
\n1945.<\/p>\n
\"So it's naive to use the recent incidents to corner ABRI,\" he
\nsaid as reported by Antara. \"Indonesia would risk disintegrating
\nif the people no longer trust the Armed Forces.\"<\/p>\n
Hutasoit was airing his support for chief of ABRI's
\nsociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid's denial of
\nallegations that the military was behind the rioting.<\/p>\n
Rumors suggest the riots were to do with the escalating
\nrivalry within the political elite in the run-up to the May 29
\nelection and the 1998 presidential election.<\/p>\n
Syarwan made the denial at a breaking of the fast dinner with
\nlocal chief editors at the defense and security ministry here
\nThursday night.<\/p>\n
He told journalists that ABRI \"did not want to play with fire\"
\nin the current situation.<\/p>\n
He alleged that the series of violence was masterminded by
\npeople who wanted to topple the government. These people,
\naccording to Syarwan, began their conspiracy by stirring up
\nunrest to discredit the government, especially the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
They are mobilizing people to topple the government, creating
\nchaos with the aim of undermining public trust in the government.<\/p>\n
\"The sequence is always like that. They do not attempt a coup
\nd'etat,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was rocked by major riots in Situbondo, East Java,
\nTasikmalaya, West Java and Sanggau Ledo, West Kalimantan late
\nlast year. In July, a riot hit Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In Situbondo and Tasikmalaya, over 35 churches were gutted or
\ndamaged, many government buildings and scores of shops belonging
\nto entrepreneurs of Chinese descent were reduced to ashes. Nine
\npeople were killed in the two towns.<\/p>\n
The Sanggau Ledo riot involved the native Dayak tribe and
\ntransmigrants from Madura, East Java. Officials said four people
\nwere killed, over 300 houses burned and about 5,000 families
\nevacuated.<\/p>\n
The riot in Jakarta on July 27 last year was triggered by the
\nbrutal takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\nheadquarters by a government-backed rebel faction.<\/p>\n
Syarwan declined to identify who it was the military suspected
\nof conspiring to topple the government, saying the authorities
\nwere still collecting evidence to arrest them.<\/p>\n
He said that unlike the good old days when Indonesia still had
\nthe Security and Order Restoration Command, the authorities now
\ncould not arrest people without hard evidence.<\/p>\n
\"When we still had the command, we could arrest suspects
\nwithout material evidence. Now, we can no longer do it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hutasoit called on the public to be wary of rumors
\ndesigned by irresponsible people to sow hatred toward the
\ngovernment or other groups.<\/p>\n
He said that under the present political situation the public
\nshould not trust rumors to be the truth. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/golkar-official-defends-abri-over-allegations-on-riots-1447893297",
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