Wiranto says he has been invited to Washington<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
One of Golkar's presidential candidates, Gen. (retired) Wiranto,
\nclaimed on Thursday that he had been invited to Washington D.C.,
\npossibly to meet high level U.S. officials.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, who enjoyed unprecedented support from Golkar leaders
\nat the regency and province levels, said he could not honor the
\ninvitation any time soon, due to a very busy schedule.<\/p>\n
"I have been invited to go to Washington, but I can't go there
\nimmediately because of my activities here," Wiranto said in a
\nseminar organized by the Center for Information and Development
\nStudies (CIDES) here.<\/p>\n
Wiranto did not divulge whether the invitation came from the
\nBush administration or a private individual.<\/p>\n
Had the invitation come from the Bush administration, it could
\nboost Wiranto's presidential bid. Wiranto is seeking the
\nnomination by Golkar, the country's second largest party, to run
\nin the first ever direct presidential election next year.<\/p>\n
It may also signal a change of attitude on the part of the
\nU.S., which had demanded that military officers responsible for
\ngross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999 be brought to
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Wiranto was the commander of the Indonesian military (TNI),
\nwhen then pro-Jakarta militias, backed by Indonesian troops, went
\non a bloody rampage in 1999, killing hundreds of East Timorese
\ncivilians and laying waste to almost 85 percent of the
\ninfrastructure in the territory. He was mentioned as a possible
\nsuspect in separate investigations carried out by the United
\nNations and Komnas HAM, but has never been charged in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
A spokesman from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Stanley Harsha
\nsaid on Thursday that he was not aware of any invitation for
\nWiranto to go to Washington.<\/p>\n
"I don't know. I really don't know," he said.<\/p>\n
According to Lt. Gen. (retired) Suaidy Marasabessy, former TNI
\nchief for general affairs, Wiranto had been invited by a private
\nindividual who will facilitate meetings between Wiranto and
\nofficials from the Bush administration.<\/p>\n
"The invitation came from a figure who works with a non-
\ngovernmental organization there," Suaidy said.<\/p>\n
Asked to comment on press reports that the U.S. disapproved
\nhis presidential ambitions, Wiranto said that the country had
\npromised not to intervene in Indonesia's internal politics.<\/p>\n
"The U.S. has said it would not interfere with Golkar's
\nconvention," he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
Media reports said earlier that U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce
\nhad told Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung that Indonesia would be
\nin deep trouble if Wiranto became president of the country.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, surprisingly, received strong support from Golkar
\nleaders across the country during the party's convention series
\nto settle on a presidential candidate. At least 25 Golkar
\nprovincial branches have thrown their support behind Wiranto.<\/p>\n
More support came from the party's chapters in the 353
\nregencies, wherein Wiranto was backed by 327. He is currently
\nleading the Golkar pack and its looks very likely that he could
\nbe handed the nomination, giving him an excellent chance of
\nbecoming president next year.<\/p>\n
Although Golkar delayed the selection of one definite
\ncandidate until after the legislative election on April 5,
\nWiranto said that he would maintain his bid with the party.<\/p>\n
"The process is still underway. Let everyone monitor it," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the public must ensure that Golkar's convention series
\nwould select a presidential candidate that has the capability to
\ncreate a strong and effective government.<\/p>\n
He said a string of violence throughout the country was the
\nresult of the absence of an effective government.<\/p>\n
Wiranto reiterated on Thursday that there were no gross
\nviolations of human rights in East Timor.<\/p>\n
"What happened at that time was mass riots prompted by alleged
\nunfairness of the ballot," Wiranto said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wiranto-says-he-has-been-invited-to-washington-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}