Soebandrio steers clear of politics<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former foreign minister Soebandrio, one of three
\npolitical prisoners pardoned by President Soeharto last week,
\nsaid yesterday that he would not politick after his release on
\nAug. 16.<\/p>\n
\"It is useless,\" he told reporters who interviewed him and
\nOmar Dhani, another political prisoner, at the Cipinang prison in
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto granted clemency on Friday to Soebandrio,
\nwho was also president Sukarno's deputy prime minister, vice
\nmarshal Omar Dhani, former minister\/air force chief, and police
\nbrigadier general R. Soegeng Soetarto, former deputy chief of the
\nIndonesian Intelligence Agency, of which Soebandrio was the boss.<\/p>\n
They were convicted by a special military tribunal in 1966 and
\n1973 for their roles in the 1965 communist coup attempt.<\/p>\n
They were sentenced to death but President Soeharto later
\nreduced the sentence to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, according to the announcement, freed the men for
\nhumanitarian reasons.<\/p>\n
Soebandrio, 81, said yesterday that at this age he saw no
\nbenefit in politicking.<\/p>\n
\"I'll turn 82 in September and am now thinking only about the
\nworld-here-after in order not to be thrown into hell,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soebandrio, a physician-turned-politician, said he was
\nsuffering from high-blood pressure and a hernia.<\/p>\n
He added that he is struggling to survive with yoga and walks.<\/p>\n
\"I tell you frankly, serving a jail term is a bitter
\nexperience, very bitter for me. But it is better to serve it than
\nto be dumped into hell after death.\"<\/p>\n
He said that God Almighty had been very kind to him and had
\ngranted him the chance to devote his life entirely to Him.<\/p>\n
According to Soebandrio, a Moslem, he did not pay attention to
\nhis faith while in power.<\/p>\n
\"I could not read the Holy Koran then and was not disciplined
\nin performing daily prayers,\" he said. He added that God had been
\nso kind by \"telling him 'you should have been more careful in
\nyour life.'\"<\/p>\n
Soebandrio refused to express an opinion about his release. He
\nsaid he could not say anything until he was free. \"I'm afraid of
\na possible slip of the tongue because it might back-fire on me.\"<\/p>\n
\"Later, when I'm free you can ask about anything but
\npolitics,\" he said, adding that at the moment he could only
\nexpress his gratitude to God for his benevolence and thank the
\nPresident for his generosity.<\/p>\n
Asked when he first was informed about the presidential
\nclemency, Soebandrio said he had not been officially informed.<\/p>\n
He found out from the radio and later that day watched TV.<\/p>\n
Soebandrio said he never expected clemency would be granted
\nbecause he had heard rumors about it for three years and nothing
\nhappened.<\/p>\n
He added that he had been begging God that he would not die in
\nprison.<\/p>\n
\"Now I sincerely thank Pak (Father) Harto for his brave
\ndecision.\"<\/p>\n
He said he understood that it was not easy to free Soebandrio
\nand Omar Dhani. \"I know it because I held power once,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that he was a politician who had both friends and
\nenemies. \"But this clemency was really beyond expectation,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Omar Dhani, 71, said he was suffering from low-
\nblood pressure but found it difficult to have it checked. \"Pak
\nBan (Soebandrio) used to have a sphygmomanometer but it doesn't
\nwork now.\"<\/p>\n
Asked what he would do after he is freed, Omar said he would
\nspend his time at home with his family. \"I want to be familiar
\nwith my family because the youngest among my children was only
\nfive months old when I was arrested. Now he has his own
\nchildren,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Omar said that his daily activities in prison included reading
\nand weight lifting.<\/p>\n
He also said that he understood that the presidential decision
\nwas based on humanitarian reasons. \"It is a very wise decision,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he saw it as having a connection to the fall of
\ncommunist regimes in eastern Europe, Omar said \"I don't know. Pak
\nHarto knows better.\"<\/p>\n
The most important thing for him, he said, is freedom and to
\nbe with his family.<\/p>\n
Soetarto, 77, the former intelligence deputy chief, could not
\nbe reached because he was being hospitalized. (tis\/03)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soebandrio-steers-clear-of-politics-1447893297",
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