Wiranto must go for sake of the economy: Gus Dur<\/p>\n
SEOUL (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said here on Thursday
\nhis persistent calls for Coordinating Minister for Political
\nAffairs and Security Gen. Wiranto to resign were for the good of
\nthe economy.<\/p>\n
\"If he refuses to step down voluntarily, then the country will
\nlose the opportunity to have investors, to have an economic
\ncomeback,\" Abdurrahman told a news conference on the first day of
\nhis two-day visit to South Korea.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was among the countries hardest hit when a region-
\nwide economic contagion struck in 1997. Economic woes and
\naccompanying social upheaval led to the downfall of president
\nSoeharto in May 1998 and democratic elections last June.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman's three overseas trips since taking office last
\nOctober have resulted in the world's support for economic
\nrecovery in Indonesia, despite security problems in several
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
He continued on Thursday to downplay speculation of a military
\ncoup, saying the Indonesian Military (TNI) had come out in
\nsupport of him.<\/p>\n
The President said an assistant in Jakarta told him by phone
\nearlier in the day that several military generals expressed
\nsupport for him. He said the generals also planned to press
\nWiranto to resign to take responsibility for alleged human rights
\nabuses by the military in East Timor last year. Wiranto was TNI
\ncommander at the time.<\/p>\n
The government-sanctioned inquiry into last year's destruction
\nand violence in East Timor named Wiranto and four top TNI
\nofficers among those responsible for the mayhem.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has repeatedly said he will not address the call for
\nhis resignation until the President returns on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman denied that his resolve to confront the once
\nuntouchable military belied his decision to drop Wiranto from the
\nCabinet.<\/p>\n
\"For me, confrontation is not my type of work, but it is in
\nthe interest of Wiranto himself. I regret to him, because he is
\none of the honest generals,\" Abdurrahman said.<\/p>\n
\"We can pay our respects to him in a capacity that we will
\nthink of later.\" However, he ruled out another Cabinet position
\nfor Wiranto.<\/p>\n
In a hearing with the House of Representatives in Jakarta, TNI
\nchief Admiral Widodo A.S. renewed his assurance that the armed
\nforces would not stage a coup, but instead would support civilian
\nsupremacy as part of democracy.<\/p>\n
\"There has been no intention in our mind of toppling the
\ngovernment,\" Widodo told legislators.<\/p>\n
In response to Abdurrahman's call for Wiranto's resignation,
\nWidodo said TNI would back whatever decision the government made.<\/p>\n
Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen.
\nDjadja Suparman joined Widodo in pledging allegiance to the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"TNI soldiers will never launch a coup because we have taken
\nan oath to uphold the state ideology Pancasila, the 1945
\nConstitution and the legitimate government,\" Djadja said in his
\nvisit to a combat training camp in Kebumen, Central Java.<\/p>\n
But Djadja warned that Kostrad \"will not take a quiet stance\"
\nin the face of attempts to discredit TNI.<\/p>\n
Support for Abdurrahman also came from the National Awakening
\nParty (PKB), which the President helped found. The party's deputy
\nsecretary-general, Yahya Staquf, told a news conference on
\nThursday that TNI should permit due legal process of active and
\nretired military officers who allegedly committed human rights
\nabuse.<\/p>\n
Yahya said the allegations dealt with individuals, not TNI as
\nan institution.<\/p>\n
PKB said the standoff between Abdurrahman and former chiefs of
\nTNI, Wiranto and Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung, had no institutional
\nlink to TNI as an organization.<\/p>\n
\"Wiranto and Feisal were military officers in the past who are
\nnow connected with legal cases. They should be viewed separately
\nfrom TNI as an institution,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The President blamed Feisal on Sunday for the bloody forcible
\ntakeover of the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI) on July 27, 1996. (prb\/emf\/jun)<\/p>",
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