ABRI asked to make 'positive contribution'
JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives speaker Wahono yesterday told the Armed Forces, now a target of human rights abuse allegations, to make a "positive contribution" to the nation.
"It is expected that the Armed Forces be able to safeguard and implement its commitments as a vanguard of the people's interests," he said.
The House Speaker made the remarks while opening this year's fourth session of the House, which has just convened after a month-long recess.
Wahono, a retired lieutenant general and a one-time chief of the ruling Golkar party, asked the Armed Forces (ABRI) to examine the recent cases that have put the military in the spotlight.
He singled out the recent shooting spree in Timika, Irian Jaya, by a soldier from the Army's Special Force, who killed 19 people, most of whom were soldiers.
"The incident shocked us...we are deeply concerned. It should be thoroughly investigated," Wahono said.
The preliminary investigation conducted by the Armed Forces concluded that the trigger-happy soldier was temporarily deranged by tropical malaria when he went berserk in the Timika Airport hangar.
ABRI, which plays a dominant role in Indonesian politics, has had to contend with further allegations of human rights abuses since it clamped down on a massive student demonstration in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, on April 22.
Armed Forces Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono has publicly admitted that three students were killed, saying they jumped into a river to evade arrest.
The military has formed a team to investigate the incident, as has the National Commission on Human Rights. Neither organization has announced its findings.
Wahono also called on the Armed Forces to pay greater attention to the incidents of student brawling in the capital this year that have claimed at least seven lives and injured scores of students.
Last year, 12 students were killed in street fights in Jakarta, according to police reports.
He called on the government and the public to seek explanations as to why urban youths are turning to violence.
"So serious is this problem that President Soeharto has expressed his deep concern, too," the House Speaker said.
He said that fast changing social values and the influence of violent television programs are contributing to the youth delinquency problem.
Changing social values, he said, require planners of the nation's development programs to go back to the drawing board and seek improvements.
"We should ask ourselves: Has national development contributed to the loosening of our moral standards and familial relationships?" he asked.
Wahono proposed that school curricula place more emphasis on moral lessons as one possible remedy. (pan)