Reform leaders must unite: Emil<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Economist Emil Salim, one of the leading figures
\nof the reform movement, has called on public figures who support
\nreform to put aside their differences and unite in pushing for
\npolitical change.<\/p>\n
Unity would give them greater bargaining power in any
\nnegotiations with the present government, Emil said in a
\ndiscussion on national political reconciliation yesterday.<\/p>\n
Emil said these public leaders were the ones with real
\npolitical power by virtue of their influence over the people.
\nThose who were currently in the government only had \"pseudo\"
\npolitical power, he said.<\/p>\n
\"National political reconciliation will only be possible if
\nreal political power is united,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Among those he cited as having real political power were
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri, the ousted leader of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party, Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, and
\nMuhammadiyah chairman Amien Rais.<\/p>\n
Emil was speaking at a discussion organized by Paramadinamulya
\nUniversity. None of the five public figures invited to speak
\nturned up. They included Megawati, Armed Forces Chief of
\nSociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
\nNurcholish Madjid, the university's rector.<\/p>\n
Emil said the bickering between people with real political
\npower would slow down the reform movement.<\/p>\n
\"How can they move forward toward national reconciliation with
\nthe government and the Armed Forces if they continue bickering
\namong themselves?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
\"It was the real political power which had the most influence
\nin forcing Pak Harto to step down,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Emil cited as an example of the bickering the current row
\nbetween labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan and leaders of Moslem
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
Muchtar earned the wrath of Moslem leaders after he suggested,
\nin interviews printed in the International Herald Tribune and
\nUmmat magazine, that Moslem groups were behind the bloody riots
\nin Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Indonesian Council of Islamic
\nPropagation Husein Umar and chairman of the United Development
\nParty Ismail Hasan Metareum have since challenged Muchtar to
\nsubstantiate his allegations with evidence.<\/p>\n
Political observer Dipo Alam, another speaker in the
\ndiscussion, said unity among reform leaders was an illusion.<\/p>\n
\"They will unite again when the threat of the return of
\nSoeharto and his supporters become real,\" said Dipo, \"Otherwise,
\nthey will continue to fight among themselves.\"<\/p>\n
Emil, an economist by training who served in several of
\nSoeharto's governments, said the current economic crisis could
\nnot be resolved unless the nation settled the political issues
\nfirst.<\/p>\n
He said a general election should be held immediately.<\/p>\n
\"Only a president and an administration elected through an
\nopen and fair general election will get the genuine support and
\nconfidence of the people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
All recent reform gestures by the government as well as the
\nefforts to secure the support of the International Monetary Fund,
\nfailed to arrest the decline in the rupiah's exchange rate, he
\nnoted. (imn)<\/p>",
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