Business community plans mass strike on Tuesday

JAKARTA (JP): Members of the Indonesian business community threatened to stage a one-day strike on Tuesday if President B.J. Habibie and Minister of Defense and Security/Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto continued their bids for the presidency and vice presidency, respectively.

National Mandate Party (PAN) member Bara Hasibuan said on Monday intellectuals and professionals across the city were expected to join the strike.

"The one-day strike will not be limited to businesspeople at the Jakarta Stock Exchange. It's open to all professionals," Bara told reporters during a protest at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) on Jl. Sudirman.

"We have spread news of the planned strike to professional groups in the capital via E-mail and word of mouth. We had hoped to arrange a nationwide strike, but it's a bit late for that now."

Groups expected to participate in the one-day strike include the Professional Society for Democracy, the Solidarity of Professionals for Reform and the Jakarta Graduates Movement.

"The location of the strike might be in front of the central bank in Central Jakarta, but we're not sure as yet. Let's see how things go tomorrow (Tuesday)," Bara said.

The protesters on Monday, mostly employees from the JSX building, called on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) not to elect Habibie and Wiranto in the presidential and vice presidential elections slated for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Businesswoman Amalia Achmad of private television station ANteve said the strike would convey "a very simple message from the Indonesian business community".

"We just want the MPR to reject the candidacies of Habibie and Wiranto as president and vice president, respectively. We can't take them anymore."

A National University student and member of the City Forum (Forkot) student group said on Sunday night that should the MPR elect Habibie and Wiranto, there would be "war cries throughout the capital".

"Forkot, Famred and other elements of the City Forum will revolt if the candidacies (of Wiranto and Habibie) are accepted," the student, who asked for anonymity, said. Famred is the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy.

The white-collar protest on Monday was attended by several political figures, including MPR deputy speakers Matori Abdul Djalil and Kwik Kian Gie, PAN secretary-general Faisal Basri and deputy chairman Abdillah Toha, noted lawyers Todung Mulya Lubis and Bambang Widjojanto, economists Rizal Ramli and Pande Radja Silalahi, human rights campaigner Albert Hasibuan and artist Ratna Sarumpaet.

Kwik Kian Gie said the election of Habibie and Wiranto would be "the beginning of the end" for Indonesia.

"Those setan dan iblis (devils) should not be elected. If it happens, we are all doomed," Kwik told the protesters, who roared with approval.

Matori said the appointment of Habibie and Wiranto would lead to the country's disintegration.

"The question is, if those two are elected president and vice president, are we ready, as a nation, to lose Irian Jaya? Aceh? Are we ready for them to tear us apart," Matori asked.

The protesters renewed their threat to boycott the JSX if Habibie was elected president.

"If Habibie is reelected, you should stop trading before the index goes down," Faisal Basri said.

An unusual incident occurred during the demonstration, when Faisal Basri, upon seeing Matori's arrival to join the protesters, said: "Let (PAN legislator) A.M. Fatwa interrupt the session again so everybody can see his stupidity."

Faisal was referring to an incident in the MPR on Friday, when Fatwa criticized Matori during the Assembly session for attending an earlier protest at the JSX.

The one-hour rally ended after Matori released balloons into the air and unveiled a banner which read: "No to Habibie. The Reform faction says Habibie's speech used faulty data."

Meanwhile, the Monitoring Body for the Implementation of Total Reform (Bappertal) filed a complaint against Habibie at the National Police Headquarters on Monday for delivering a faulty accountability speech to the nation.

Bappertal spokesman Syafril Sofyan said most of the economic figures Habibie used in the speech were incorrect.

"We have the correct data with us and we are submitting it to the National Police," Syafril said after a meeting with National Police deputy chief of detectives Brig. Gen. Saluchu.

During his speech to the Assembly, Habibie said inflation was completely under control, the rupiah had strengthened and economic growth could reach 1 percent or remain flat for the current fiscal year, compared to a 13.2 percent contraction in 1998.

"All these indicators show that our economy has returned to the path of recovery," he told the Assembly last Thursday. (04/ylt)