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)