ABRI told to stick to 'Dwifungsi'

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A senior statesman called on the Armed Forces (ABRI) Saturday not to expand its Dwifungsi, or dual function in defense and politics, to "multifunction".

Roeslan Abdoelgani said that ABRI should stick to Dwifungsi and strengthen its commitment to serving the people as the founding fathers intended.

"ABRI members should realize that they are the people's soldiers," Roeslan said at Hotel Garuda when addressing 90 members of Yayasan Pembela Tanah Air, an organization of men who fought to help Indonesia win independence in 1945.

Expanding the role, he argued, would only endanger ABRI's current role as the protector of Indonesia's political stability and security.

Roeslan declined to specify what prompted him to make the statement.

"ABRI won't be able to carry out its Dwifungsi properly because it would be overwhelmed by other jobs," he said.

Roeslan, President Soeharto's former advisor for propagation of the state ideology Pancasila, said that ABRI was not established to oppress and intimidate the people for political ends.

"ABRI should never become a tool to steal people's basic and political rights," he said.

Roeslan, one of 92 Yapeta members from various provinces who traveled to East Java and Yogyakarta last week to lay wreaths on the graves of independence proclaimer Sukarno and ABRI founding father Gen. Soedirman.

Among the senior war veterans were Lt. Gen. (ret.) M. Karis Suhud and Lt. Gen. Wahono. The latter is currently House speaker.

Joining the entourage were Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, and Sukarno's eldest daughter, Megawati Soekarnoputri. She has been in trouble since she was toppled from the chairmanship of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in a government-backed congress last year. She was replaced as party chief by Soerjadi.

Roeslan's speech on Saturday night was given in place of a planned talk by Yapeta members on political and security issues. The original idea was to come up with a statement of concern about the latest political and security developments in the Indonesia.

"The dialog was abruptly canceled as a result of a small incident in the afternoon (Saturday), in which Wahono failed to join us on our visit to Sukarno's grave in Blitar," a Yapeta member, who asked to remain anonymous, said after the meeting.

The source said that Wahono canceled his visit to Sukarno's grave as soon as he had been informed upon arriving in Blitar that Megawati would be hosting the ceremony.

Initially, it was Guntur Soekarnoputra, her younger brother, who had agreed to play host. Megawati is a House member from the PDI.

"Wahono would have come to the grave if it was Guntur who escorted us," the source said. Wahono flew back to Jakarta shortly afterward on the same day, he added.

Yapeta chairman Pamoe Rahardjo said earlier that there should have been no problem with Megawati's presence because the Yapeta members' visit to the grave of the country's best sons, and Megawati's role as host, had been approved by President Soeharto.

Megawati, who won by popular vote in an extraordinary congress convened by the party in Surabaya in 1993, is waging a legal battle to regain leadership of the party. In her latest political ordeal, she and her husband Taufik Kiemas were questioned by police last week for hosting a political meeting at her home.

Yesterday, Yapeta members visited the grave of Gen. Soedirman, and later met with his widow at her residence in Yogyakarta.

The foundation members are scheduled to visit the grave of another founding father, Mohammad Hatta, in Jakarta on Thursday. (imn)

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