Soeharto denies 'resignation' statement<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday denied media
\nreports suggesting that he was prepared to stand down from
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, who flew in from Cairo before dawn yesterday, asked
\nMinister of Information Alwi Dahlan to clarify the reports, which
\nhad appeared in both local and foreign newspapers.<\/p>\n
Alwi told reporters that \"he (Soeharto) never said that `I'm
\nready to resign' as interpreted by some in the media\".<\/p>\n
The purported remarks were made during a meeting with members
\nof the Indonesian community in Egypt on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Soeharto pointed out that \"it would not be
\na problem\" for him if the people no longer trusted him as
\npresident, according to Alwi.<\/p>\n
The minister added that he had asked state-run TVRI to
\nbroadcast nationwide the recording of the Cairo meeting.<\/p>\n
In that meeting, which was attended by Indonesian journalists
\naccompanying the President, Soeharto said that if he was no
\nlonger trusted to lead the nation, he would become a pandito
\n(sage) and endeavor to get closer to God.<\/p>\n
He said he would spend his time guiding his children so that
\nthey would become good people.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas has also clarified that
\nSoeharto would only step down through constitutional means.<\/p>\n
Soeharto was reelected for a seventh term in office by the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in March.<\/p>\n
The suggestion that Soeharto was ready to resign triggered
\nreaction Thursday, with MPR Speaker Harmoko saying he planned to
\nconsult with the President to discuss the issue upon Soeharto's
\nreturn from Cairo.<\/p>\n
Others, including Kosgoro (a mass organization affiliated with
\nGolkar), called for an extraordinary session of the MPR to
\nprocess a motion for the President's resignation.<\/p>\n
Kosgoro leaders, who had also called on Soeharto and Vice
\nPresident B.J. Habibie to return the \"mandate\" given them by the
\nMPR in March, visited the House of Representatives yesterday to
\npress their demands.<\/p>\n
Fifteen retired senior Armed Forces (ABRI) officers who fought
\nwith Soeharto during the independence struggle 50 years ago,
\njoined the growing chorus for the President to step down
\nyesterday and for the MPR to convene as soon as possible to
\nprocess the motion.<\/p>\n
\"It is of the utmost importance that President Soeharto
\nimmediately carry out his own statement to resign from the office
\nof the President\/Head of State,\" said a statement signed by
\n\"Officers of the Armed Forces' Generation of 1945\".<\/p>\n
The signatories to the statement are respected officers of the
\ngeneration of freedom fighters like Soeharto. Most of them also
\nserved under Soeharto in the military or the government.<\/p>\n
They are Kemal Idris, Ali Sadikin, Kharis Suhud, D. Pardjaman,
\nSayidiman S., Himawan Soetanto, Bambang Triantoro, Harun Zein,
\nHoegeng Imam Santoso, Rudini, Solichin GP, Ashadi Tjahjadi,
\nKusparmono Irsan, Wijogo Atmodarminto and Sukardi.<\/p>\n
They said that a 1966 resolution to uphold the state ideology
\nof Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution to the letter had not met
\nthe expectations of the majority of the people.<\/p>\n
The 1966 resolution refers to the promise made when Soeharto
\ncame into power to replace then president Sukarno.<\/p>\n
The officers said they supported the current student movement
\npushing for political, economic and legal reforms.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) in a
\nstatement welcomed Soeharto's gesture to lengser keprabon, a
\nJavanese term meaning to make way for someone else to lead.<\/p>\n
The gesture was a \"first step in the process toward a peaceful
\nand constitutional reform process,\" ICMI said in a statement
\nsigned by caretaker chairman Achmad Tirtosudiro and secretary-
\ngeneral Adi Sasono.<\/p>\n
ICMI is technically still chaired by B.J. Habibie, who is now
\nthe country's vice president.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Gen. (ret.) R. Hartono denounced
\nyesterday those who demanded Soeharto's resignation.<\/p>\n
These individuals and groups do not speak on behalf of the
\npeople as they claim, Hartono said.<\/p>\n
\"The people have spoken, that the President is Soeharto. This
\nwas the outcome of the MPR General Session and this is still
\nvalid,\" Hartono told reporters in his office, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
When asked to specifically comment on the stance taken by
\nKosgoro leaders, Hartono said that if their intention was to
\nundermine the integrity of the government, then they would be
\ndealt with in accordance with the law.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-denies-resignation-statement-1447893297",
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