ABRI asked to make 'positive contribution'

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)