Government washes its hands of dispute to remove mayor<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis and Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
Instead of offering mediation, the central government sent a
\nclear message on Wednesday that it was washing its hands of the
\ncontroversial dismissal of Surabaya mayor Bambang Dwi Nugroho by
\nlocal councillors.<\/p>\n
Claiming that Jakarta should not intervene in regional matters
\nfollowing the implementation of regional autonomy, Minister of
\nHome Affairs Hari Sabarno said he would leave the dispute with
\nthe governor.<\/p>\n
"I leave the matter with the governor to encourage warring
\nparties to understand regional autonomy. It is impossible for the
\nministry to tackle the problems facing 370 regencies and
\nmayoralties across the country," he said on the sidelines of a
\nnational meeting organized by the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n
He added that the discord could have been addressed if the
\nconflicting parties refrained from showing arrogance and
\nexercising excessive power.<\/p>\n
Hari further said that he had received a report from Surabaya
\ncouncillors detailing the process of the vote of nonconfidence
\nagainst Bambang.<\/p>\n
"I received the report this morning and immediately asked the
\nEast Java governor to set up an independent team to probe the
\ncase," he said.<\/p>\n
The City Council decided to dismiss Bambang early this month
\nafter he failed to appear and present his revised budget
\naccountability report for the 2001 fiscal year.<\/p>\n
But the central government, which according to the law is
\nauthorized to appoint and remove local chief executives,
\nrecognizes Bambang as the incumbent mayor.<\/p>\n
"Actually, the government, or in this case the Ministry of
\nHome Affairs, recommends that Bambang stay mayor as long as the
\npresidential decree stipulating his position remains unchanged.
\nBased on the law, he is still the legitimate mayor," Hari said.<\/p>\n
The minister said that Bambang's removal resulted from an
\nabsence of a ruling on political ethics in the relationship
\nbetween the legislative council and regional administrations.<\/p>\n
He said that the ruling would stipulate the extent of the
\ncouncil's authority in proposing for a mayor's removal or
\nelection.<\/p>\n
"We should consider the public's interests if the council
\nexercises its right every month or every year to fire a mayor,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The council fully supported Bambang's rise to power just one-
\nand-a-half months ago. Bambang took over from Sunarto
\nSumoprawiro, who was dismissed by the same councillors in January
\nbecause of poor health and performance. Bambang, the deputy mayor
\nunder Sunarto, was formally sworn in as the new mayor in June.<\/p>\n
Hari suggested changes to several articles of Law No. 25\/1999
\non regional autonomy, which requires the local administration to
\npresent an annual progress report before the council. He said the
\nruling had triggered a rift between the executive and legislative
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
"Referring to this case, I believe that it occurred due to a
\nmisinterpretation of these articles. So to avoid further
\nproblems, I think we must reevaluate these articles," Hari said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a reconciliatory meeting between Bambang and the
\ncouncillors in Surabaya on Wednesday failed to materialize.<\/p>\n
The much-awaited meeting was arranged by the mayor at his
\nofficial residence at Jl. Walikota Mustajab No. 61.<\/p>\n
Councillors from the National Awakening Party, Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle and the United factions did not turn
\nup, and the council's speaker, M. Basuki, was away in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Only high-ranking city officials and security officers
\nattended the coffee morning.<\/p>\n
"Not to be prejudiced, but this meeting was aimed at fostering
\na mutual understanding that we have missed for long," Bambang
\ncommented on the absence of the councillors.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-washes-its-hands-of-dispute-to-remove-mayor-1447893297",
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