Mega meets Habibie for first time since taking office<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri held a warm and friendly meeting
\nwith former president B.J. Habibie on Monday, the first time the
\npair have met since she became president in July 2001.<\/p>\n
Habibie is the only former president that has received a warm
\nwelcome from Megawati as she has a sour relationship with former
\npresident Abdurrahman Wahid and it would be too controversial to
\nmeet former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
"This is just a friendly meeting between two families; I was
\njust telling the President about my wife's health condition,"
\nHabibie claimed after the meeting.<\/p>\n
Habibie was handpicked by Soeharto to replace him in 1998 amid
\nnationwide riots by protesters demanding the dictator resign
\nafter ruling the country for 32 years.<\/p>\n
In 1999, Habibie withdrew his presidential bid after his
\naccountability speech was rejected by members of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
Habibie is in Jakarta to host a meeting of the Forum
\nInteraction Council (FIC), an international organization whose
\nmembers consist of former heads of state from around the globe.<\/p>\n
The three-day meeting will start on Tuesday at The Habibie
\nCenter. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser and
\nformer Dutch prime minister Andreas Van Agt are slated to attend.<\/p>\n
Habibie is the only member of the forum from Indonesia. The
\nmeeting will discuss possible clashes of cultures resulting from
\nthe global war against terrorism.<\/p>\n
He is currently residing in Germany where his wife, Ainun
\nHabibie, is undergoing medical treatment.<\/p>\n
"I told the President that hopefully I could get back here
\ngradually as my wife's health condition is getting better, maybe
\nby the end of this year I can return to Jakarta," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Doddy Yudhista, spokesman for the private think tank
\nthe Habibie Center, was quoted by the Detikcom as saying Habibie
\nwould testify at a human rights court hearing cases of atrocities
\nin East Timor in 1999.<\/p>\n
As president, Habibie authorized the United Nations to hold a
\nself-determination ballot in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Monday's meeting lasted for 90 minutes, 30 minutes longer than
\nscheduled, forcing Megawati to arrive late for her next
\nappointment at the State Palace.<\/p>\n
However, Megawati, who escorted Habibie and his wife to the
\nfront door of her residence, seemed to enjoy the meeting and
\nsmiled a lot to reporters.<\/p>\n
Habibie, before entering Megawati's residence, greeted
\nreporters standing by to cover the meeting. "I miss them
\n(reporters) as I haven't met them for a while," he said.<\/p>\n
One of his aides, who declined to be named, said that Habibie
\nhad also requested a meeting with Soeharto, but they had had no
\nresponse.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mega-meets-habibie-for-first-time-since-taking-office-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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