Bakorstanas officially dissolved

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)