ABRI out to right blunders: Wiranto

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto, admitting that the military feels the negative fallout from policies which hurt the public, has pledged to persevere in putting matters right.

"ABRI continues to take steps to make improvement and corrections to various policies that inflicted losses to people," he told a gathering of thousands of Moslems from the greater Jakarta area who joined him in the dawn prayer yesterday at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque in Central Jakarta.

"ABRI would not even hesitate to apologize for mistakes and wrongdoings it committed in the past."

Although Wiranto did not cite specific incidents, ABRI's image has been tarnished in recent months following revelations that its units were involved in the kidnapping and torture of political activists, and other violations of rights.

Wiranto reminded "all elements of the nation" to share the responsibility and work together with a positive mindset.

"It would be a commendable act if we all engage in self- introspection and study all that we have done," he said. "With this, everyone can understand their flaws and mistakes and start to improve."

He said the onus of fostering a public sense of security was not solely for the military, but one that should be shared and in which the Moslem majority of the population should be at the vanguard.

"It is not the task of ABRI alone to make people feel safe. Moslems should become pioneers in the endeavor to create a feeling of security in the community."

Moslems could help foster and maintain a sense of security through refusing to engage in spreading rumors.

"Moslems should... set an example in speaking only what's true and in a proportional manner," he said. He added that people were becoming bored of the slew of increasingly outrageous hearsay.

Quoting a saying of Prophet Muhammad, he said a community was similar to the human body -- when one part is in hurt, the rest also suffers.

He said the Armed Forces and all elements of the nation were committed to lift the country out of the crisis immediately and to implement reform gradually. (rms/swe)