ABRI to stay neutral in next year's poll

ABRI to stay neutral in next year's poll

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto
promised on Monday that the military would not back Golkar in
next year's general election, and that it would treat all
contestants equally.

Addressing the media after he met with President B.J. Habibie
at Merdeka Palace, Wiranto said ABRI would break its past habit
of supporting certain political contestants.

Wiranto did not mention any names, but over the three decades
of Soeharto's New Order regime both the military and the
bureaucracy were the staunchest supporters of Golkar, which
Soeharto used to perpetuate his power.

The Armed Forces had in the past made the same promise of not
becoming involved in elections, but in practice it continued to
dabble. The most blatant display of the military's support was
made by former Army chief of staff Gen. (ret) R. Hartono and
several other military officers who donned Golkar's yellow
jackets before the 1997 elections.

"I do not think it is like that (anymore). Now, ABRI will
really guard its neutrality," Wiranto said on Monday as quoted by
Antara.

"We will keep our distance from all parties, not only Golkar,
PPP (the United Development Party) and PDI (the Indonesian
Democratic Party), but also other political parties contesting
the poll," he said.

The three parties he mentioned were established during
Soeharto's era. Since Soeharto stepped aside in May, nearly 120
new political parties have emerged.

Wiranto vowed ABRI would only "wear its own jacket" and would
not ally itself with any of the parties in the upcoming election.

Wiranto also promised that the Armed Forces would only work to
secure next June's poll from disturbances so that contesting
parties would able to exercise their rights fully.

Home Affairs Minister Syarwan Hamid, who, along with Wiranto,
Minister of Justice Muladi and Coordinating Minister for
Political Affairs and Security Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung,
participated in the unscheduled meeting with Habibie, said the
poll planned for June 7 would likely be contested by 15 parties.

"I cannot predict, but from the 120 parties listed... the
ones which qualify would probably not be more than 15," Syarwan
said.

Later in the day, Wiranto conferred military honors -- the
Yudha Dharma Nararya, Yudha Dharma Pratama and Dharma stars -- on
a number of ABRI leaders. They included ABRI Chief of General
Affairs Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi, Commander of the Army's Strategic
Reserves Command Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, Attorney General Lt.
Gen. A.M. Ghalib, Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar of the Institute of
National Resilience, and ABRI Chief of Territorial Affairs Lt.
Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (aan)