Gus Dur suspends MPR, DPR<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid suspended the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) just after 1 a.m. on Monday,
\nonly hours before it was due to start an impeachment process.<\/p>\n
The President also froze Golkar, the former ruling party
\nduring the Soeharto years and now rank second largest after the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
Also suspended was the House of Representatives (DPR), whose
\n500 members are part of the 700-strong MPR.<\/p>\n
The President, signing the decree in his capacity as the
\n\"Supreme Commander of the Indonesian War Forces\", also promised
\nto organize a new general election within one year.<\/p>\n
The announcement, shortly after 1 a.m., came after hours of
\ntense negotiations with the leaders of the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI), who, along with the National Police, will be expected to
\nimplement the order under the state of emergency.<\/p>\n
\"I have ordered TNI and the National Police to safeguard the
\nsteps (contained in the decree),\" he said in a televised
\nbroadcast.<\/p>\n
TNI leaders were not immediately available for comment.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman appealed for people to remain calm and to go about
\ntheir daily activities as normal.<\/p>\n
Earlier, he reiterated his stance that the MPR Special Session
\nwas unconstitutional, saying the TNI and the police should
\ntherefore withdraw their support for the session.<\/p>\n
\"I told the TNI chief that the TNI and the police are obliged
\nto defend the Constitution ... and I asked them to withdraw their
\nsupport for the Special Session, and if they refuse to do so they
\ncan resign tonight,\" the President said, referring to the TNI and
\nNational Police faction in the Assembly.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman also called on security personnel to restrain from
\nviolence in handling protests and guarantee the safety of those
\nrallying in support of his presidency.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of troops from the Army, Navy and Air Force, with
\ntheir heavy equipment and armored vehicles, were deployed at the
\nNational Monument square, near the presidential palace.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur, as the President is known, also challenged his
\npolitical foes in the Assembly to a \"battle of strength\", as
\nefforts to settle their dispute came closer to a head.<\/p>\n
\"Tomorrow I will be unseated by them (Assembly). That means
\nthey are asking for a battle of strength instead of looking for a
\npolitical compromise.<\/p>\n
\"If they want to try each other's strength ... fine. Let's do
\nthat ... and we'll see who is going to come out the winner. I
\nwill be closely monitoring the battle of strength,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
The President and TNI chief Adm. Widodo Adisucipto held talks
\nfollowing Abdurrahman's warning. Coordinating Minister for
\nPolitical, Social and Security Affairs Agum Gumelar accompanied
\nWidodo during the meeting.<\/p>\n
The three met for the second time of the day at 11 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"Please wait for the political process tomorrow. Whatever
\nhappens, I will save this nation,\" Agum told journalists as he
\nand Widodo left the meeting 10 minutes into midnight.<\/p>\n
Sources said that Agum and Widodo headed for the Ministry of
\nDefense office on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, where they met with
\nArmy, Navy and Airforce chiefs of staff.<\/p>\n
Prior to the meeting, Abdurrahman asked Ministry of Defense
\nsecretary-general Lt. Gen. Johny Lumintang, and later on TNI
\nIntelligence chief Vice Air Marshal Ian Santoso Perdanakusuma, to
\nreplace Widodo as the TNI chief, sources said.<\/p>\n
Both Johny and Ian rejected the offers.<\/p>\n
Hari Sabarno, the TNI faction chairman at the Assembly,
\nrejected Abdurrahman's ultimatum.<\/p>\n
\"It is not the President's right to ask us to do that,\" Hari
\nsaid at the Assembly before attending an Assembly leadership
\nmeeting late on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of activists from non-governmental organizations
\ngathered at the presidential palace in a show of moral support
\nfor the embattled President.<\/p>\n
Activists Emmy Hafield and Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and
\nCatholic priest Sandyawan Sumardi were among those present.<\/p>\n
In an earlier media conference, Abdurrahman reiterated that he
\ncould not resign because he was obliged to carry out the reform
\nmandate and maintain the territorial integrity of the country.<\/p>\n
\"It is not because of a personal ambition to remain in power,
\nbut because the current political process will be insufficient to
\ncomplete the reform mandate if the executors are the political
\nelite and not the public,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman also underlined that the best way to end the
\ncurrent impasse was through a snap general election, so he could
\nreturn the mandate to the people.<\/p>\n
He again call the Special Session illegal, saying the Assembly
\nwas trying to unseat him for unclear reasons. He said the
\npresident could only be impeached for treason, and he had never
\ncommitted treason.<\/p>\n
On the eve of the political showdown, hundreds of Nahdlatul
\nUlama (NU) kyai (Muslim elders) issued a recommendation for their
\nfollowers to reject all efforts to topple the President.<\/p>\n
\"Leaders that were elected democratically through a general
\nelection are legitimate and all efforts to topple the nation's
\nleader must be rejected,\" said the statement read by NU Kyai
\nMuchid Muzadi on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Some 800 NU kyai gathered at a Muslim boarding school in
\nTangerang, Banten, on Sunday. They claimed the Assembly Special
\nSession was illegal and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
\"The Special Session is a political coup against President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid conducted by the repressive and corrupt New
\nOrder regime, and has nothing to do with the nation's interests,\"
\nMuchid said with tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n
The kyai also expressed their grief over the political
\ncompromise that failed to materialize, and charged that political
\nleaders had put their short-term interests ahead of the nation.
\n(06\/tso\/dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-suspends-mpr-dpr-1447893297",
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