Bakorstanas officially dissolved

JAKARTA (JP): The majority of the archives compiled by the much-feared Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability (Bakorstanas) will be destroyed following the official dissolution of the agency on Monday.

"The larger part of Bakorstanas' database is related to persons and groups. This (information) will be annihilated because it is no longer needed," Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, general affairs chief for the Indonesian Military (TNI), said following a ceremony marking the agency's dissolution at TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Djamari said the archives would be destroyed soon, but he did not name a specific date.

Bakorstanas was established by former president Soeharto in September 1988 to replace the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order. The agency was founded to deal with any perceived problems to the country's stability.

The agency screened prospective state officials and also was reportedly used by Soeharto's New Order administration to silence government critics and take action against anyone believed to have links with the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

President Abdurrahman Wahid recently ordered the dissolution of the agency in response to public criticism.

Djamari, who is a former secretary of Bakorstanas, said TNI was seeking new positions for hundreds of TNI personnel from the agency.

"TNI is considering providing them with new jobs, although only some of them can be accommodated in the Army," he said.

TNI Commander Adm. Widodo A.S., who presided over the ceremony at the military headquarters, refused to comment on the decision to disband the agency.

"All matters regarding stability will no longer fall under Bakorstanas' auspices. It is no longer compatible with the reform era," he said. (rms)