Habibie appeals for clam over sensitive issues<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie urged the nation on
\nFriday not to be easily provoked by rumors that manipulate
\npolarizing issues such as religious and ethnic group differences
\nand inter-group relations.<\/p>\n
\"Please don't allow yourselves to be incited by such rumors,
\nbecause it has been clear and firm that our state is based on
\n(state ideology) Pancasila. We are neither a secular state nor a
\ncountry which is dominated by a single religion,\" Habibie told
\njournalists before leaving work at the Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
The President said he hoped people would see the bloody unrest
\nin parts of Indonesia, including the latest in the Maluku
\nprovincial capital of Ambon, as an expensive lesson in boosting
\ntheir alertness against any provocations by irresponsible groups.<\/p>\n
Habibie said he was confident the violence in Ambon would be
\nsoon under control especially since all religious leaders had
\nassisted the government in restoring calm there.<\/p>\n
\"I have received a report from the Armed Forces (ABRI)
\nCommander that the situation is now fully under control,\" Habibie
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense\/ABRI Chief Gen. Wiranto was expected to
\narrive in Ambon on Friday evening. The general was in Surakarta,
\nCentral Java on Thursday evening to attend a special religious
\nceremony in remembrance of the late Tien Soeharto, the wife of
\nformer president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Wiranto is scheduled to report his findings on Ambon's rioting
\nto Habibie on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"The situation in Ambon has been truly brought under control,\"
\nthe President said in a confident tone.<\/p>\n
The President's economic advisor, Frans Seda, expressed his
\nhope that people would not kill and denounce each other, and that
\npublic leaders would jointly work to calm the situation there and
\nin other parts of the country.<\/p>\n
\"The President has repeatedly said the burning of churches and
\nother places of worship is not in our nation's culture,\" Seda
\nsaid after meeting with Habibie at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
Seda, a prominent Catholic, however, quickly said that he did
\nnot discuss the Ambon rioting with Habibie.<\/p>\n
\"Let us step up our harmony and solidarity because the state
\nbelongs to all of us, and national development is our mutual
\ndevelopment,\" said the former minister of finance.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, expressions of concern and grief over the communal
\nclashes with religious overtones in Ambon that had claimed 45
\nlives so far continued to pour in.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Communion of Churches said in its statement
\nthat the unrest -- that also caused destruction to places of
\nworship -- was an attack on the religious coexistence that had so
\nfar existed and supported order in the community.<\/p>\n
\"After the Indonesian people's political and economic life was
\nattacked, this unrest in Ambon constituted a attack on our social
\nand community life,\" the body said in the statement signed by
\nchairman Sularso Sopater and secretary J.M. Pattiasina.<\/p>\n
\"The worst damage in this incident is that brotherly relations
\namong us have plunged to their lowest depth,\" it said.<\/p>\n
The Justice Party (Partai Keadilan) said in a statement signed
\nby Secretary-general Anis Matta that the military and local
\ngovernment efforts to restore the situation in the province have
\nso far proved fruitless as violence still continued there.<\/p>\n
It also urged the government to openly categorize the rioting
\nas religiously and racially motivated rather than as \"pure
\ncrimes\" as the government had insisted so far.<\/p>\n
\"It is no longer a pure crime as stated by the National Police
\nChief,\" Matta said.<\/p>\n
The Association of the Indonesian Christian Intellectual
\n(PIKI) expressed grief over the fatal incident. It said the
\nunrest had reached an alarming level and could endanger the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
\"We express our deepest concern and condolences over various
\ntragedies which have polarized the country and become out of
\ncontrol, flaring up everywhere, including in Ambon,\" PIKI
\nSecretary-General Peter P. Sumbung said on Friday.<\/p>\n
A youth organization, the Eastern Indonesia Youth Muslims
\nAssociation (IPMIT), condemned the violence in Ambon and insisted
\nthat the Armed Forces (ABRI) display its seriousness in handling
\nthe unrest.<\/p>\n
\"We demand ABRI does not just arbitrarily arrest ordinary
\npeople. Catch the masterminds,\" its chairman Moh. Kasim said in a
\npress conference. (prb\/edt\/01\/swe)<\/p>",
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