Political foes dismiss executive order<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Senior political figures outside President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid's camp dismissed the newly issued executive
\norder, describing it as a mere \"announcement\" with little
\nstatutory weight.<\/p>\n
Most brushed aside the executive order as an elucidation of
\nthe current duties of the Coordinating Minister for Political,
\nSocial and Security Affairs.<\/p>\n
Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri has not publicly reacted
\nto the executive order, which she was not consulted on.<\/p>\n
Instead, as chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) she issued a four-point instruction of
\nher own for party supporters to remain calm amid the political
\ntension.<\/p>\n
Her instructions came as reports came of widening attacks on
\nparty offices in Java by those claiming to be supporters of the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
\"Remain solid and vigilant in anticipating all possibilities
\nand do not be incited by intimidation by any party,\" Megawati
\nsaid in the written statement.<\/p>\n
In the morning, the Vice President received at her office
\nCoordinating Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, National Police
\nchief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm.
\nWidodo A.S and Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak.<\/p>\n
After the meeting she cleared her schedule, and went straight
\nto her official residence where a medley of political and
\nmilitary figures visited till late into the night.<\/p>\n
Megawati watched the announcement of the executive order on
\ntelevision at home, accompanied by party executives Soetjipto,
\nTheo Syafei and Arifin Panigoro.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters before leaving Megawati's residence, PDI
\nPerjuangan Secretary General Soetjipto said the issuance of the
\nPresident's executive order would only prolong the already tense
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
\"In our opinion this measure will only create more public
\nconfusion. We still stick with our decision to pursue a
\nconstitutional process, as there is no other way to end the
\ncurrent political impasse,\" Soetjipto remarked.<\/p>\n
In the evening, members of PDI Perjuangan's Team of Eight,
\nassigned to assess the President's progress in responding to the
\nHouse of Representatives' second memorandum arrived at her
\nresidence.<\/p>\n
Jakob Tobing, a member of the team, later told journalists
\nthat despite the recent development, the conclusion was \"almost
\ndefinitely\" the party would pursue a special session.<\/p>\n
\"But the finalization is tomorrow (Tuesday),\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who only has two days to dissuade the House of
\nRepresentatives not to call a special session, has warned that he
\nwould impose a state of emergency if it did.<\/p>\n
Separately, Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, insisted that the
\nPresident's executive order was merely meant to emphasize
\nSusilo's job description.<\/p>\n
\"The executive order is actually evidence that the embattled
\nPresident won't issue a decree to dissolve the House,\" he said,
\nafter swearing in three new Assembly members here.<\/p>\n
The three Assembly members were Arief Mudatsir of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP), Peter Sutanto of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), and Bambang
\nSudibyo, former finance minister.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said the President's
\norder should be understood as a special decree that gave
\nauthority for Susilo to restore security and order.<\/p>\n
\"The executive order must be understood as being as simple as
\nthat. It is only an announcement to the public and an order to
\nthe minister to take special action in restoring security and
\norder as well as in upholding the law,\" said Akbar, who is also
\nthe Golkar party chairman.<\/p>\n
According to Akbar, the executive order did not give Susilo
\ngreater power than he already had because defense and security
\nmatters actually were still handled by the military and the
\nNational Police.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the order would be a precursor for a possible
\nissuance of an edict to dissolve the House, Akbar said the House
\nwould ignore it if the President were eventually to issue the
\nedict.<\/p>\n
\"The President should not take hasty action in dealing with
\nthe conflict with the legislative body. It is better for the two
\nsides to find a compromise to overcome the political crisis,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Mile, a legislator from Golkar, said the executive
\norder was different from former president Sukarno's March 11,
\n1966 order to his successor Soeharto.<\/p>\n
\"With the executive order, the President was merely expressing
\nhis anger with the House's May 30 plenary session,\" Sofyan noted.<\/p>\n
Let. Gen. Budhi Harsono, chairman of the Indonesian
\nMilitary\/National Police faction, concurred, and said such an
\norder did not give special authority to Susilo to take action
\nagainst Abdurrahman's political rivals.<\/p>\n
\"The announcement is actually only stressing Susilo's tasks in
\nall fields under his coordination,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Budhi said his faction accepted the executive order in the
\ncontext of the government's effort to create a conducive climate
\nahead of the House's plenary session and the G-15 conference.<\/p>\n
In a related development, Heri Achmadi, secretary of PDI
\nPerjuangan, said his faction was ignoring the executive order
\nbecause it carried no political or legal implications to PDI
\nPerjuangan and other political parties.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori
\nAbdul Djalil praised the President's executive order as an effort
\nby a statesman to calm the nation that was worried by the
\npossible imposition of a state of emergency. He hoped Susilo
\nwould be able to carry out the task well.<\/p>\n
\"We believe in the President's statesmanship. All of his
\ndecisions have been taken after thorough deliberation,\" Matori
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Matori insisted the President's decision was unrelated to the
\nimpeachment threat facing him. \"It has nothing to do with the
\nAssembly's special session plan,\" Matori contended.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab gave a different
\nexplanation about the President's motive.<\/p>\n
According to Alwi, the order was issued to ensure the success
\nof the two-day G-15 summit which will start on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"It is not something extraordinary, although some people
\ninterpret the order differently. The executive order is aimed to
\nboost security and anticipate various things,\" Alwi said.
\n(dja\/rms)<\/p>",
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