Factions vow to meet people's aspirations
Factions vow to meet people's aspirations
JAKARTA (JP): Two major factions of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) promised on Sunday after separate internal
meetings to meet as many of the people's aspirations for overall
reform as possible in the wake of mounting opposition to the MPR
Special Session which starts on Tuesday.
However, about 300 students representing more than 40
universities in Jakarta and West Java, who do not harbor any
trust in the MPR session, have urged Megawati Soekarnoputri,
leader of one faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic
Party, to meet with Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the Nahdlatul
Ulama Moslem organization, and Amien Rais, chairman of the
National Mandate Party (PAN), to neutralize what they consider
threats to national disintegration.
The students camped out in front of Megawati's house from
Sunday morning to see to it that the three leaders met there to
iron out measures to save the nation from total chaos.
The meeting, however, had not taken place by late on Sunday
night. An aide to Megawati hinted that such a meeting might be
held on Monday morning but the students insisted on continuing
their vigil until the three political leaders met.
Informed sources said Megawati and Armed Forces Commander Gen.
Wiranto met on Friday to discuss and assess what many
apprehensively see as impending national chaos.
Many political analysts, concerned about the fragile political
situation, have suggested that Gen. Wiranto be more proactive in
leading the national reform movement to defuse the potentially
explosive situation.
The Golkar faction, which holds 585 of the 1,000 MPR seats,
held what its chairman Marzuki Darusman called a brainstorming
session to appraise people's aspirations for additions to the
session's agenda.
"We are discussing such issues as those on the dual-function
of the Armed Forces (ABRI), corruption, collusion and nepotism,
human rights violations and legal proceedings against former
president Soeharto," Marzuki told reporters during a break in the
meeting.
Stating his faction's stance, he said Golkar wanted ABRI's
sociopolitical role to be limited and that the MPR decree on
corruption, collusion and nepotism amended to accommodate the
demands for the trial of Soeharto and the investigation of his
wealth and that of his family members and cronies.
Marzuki declined to elaborate on what he meant by limiting
ABRI's sociopolitical role but asserted that the restrictions
would be in quality and quantity.
"If this is seen as a change in our political stance, let it
be because we want to accommodate the people's aspirations," he
added.
Marzuki said ABRI's sociopolitical role should be seen as part
of the whole perspective and conceptualization of an ideal, final
dual function of the military.
He also referred to other agenda items prepared for the
upcoming session.
"We are fully aware that our credibility is now down in the
gutter. This has forced us to go all out to embrace the people's
aspirations," Marzuki was quoted by Antara as saying.
The United Development Party (PPP) faction announced after an
internal meeting that its 136 MPR members were now more
determined to fight for proreform decrees such as those regarding
the expulsion of ABRI from the House of Representatives (DPR),
the trial of Soeharto and the investigation of his wealth and
that of his family members and cronies.
"If necessary, we will force votes on proreform decrees," PPP
spokesman Endin Soefihara told reporters after the meeting.
Soefihara added that his faction would resubmit to the session
a draft decree regarding the investigation of the wealth of
Soeharto, his family members and cronies widely suspected of
being amassed through corruption, nepotism and collusion.
"During the preparatory meeting for the MPR Special Session we
failed to get this draft decree approved for the session's
agenda. But we will again propose it at the upcoming session," he
added.
In Surabaya, Amien Rais stated on Sunday that his party would
reject and would not be legally bound by the MPR decrees if they
did not embody the people's aspirations.
"I hereby warn the MPR of the threat of national
disintegration if the MPR Special Session does not meet fully the
people's aspirations for overall reform," he told a rally of
around 5,000 supporters.
"The 1,000 MPR members should realize that they are still the
product of Soeharto but people must for now live with them and
give them the benefit of the doubt. But they should optimize this
opportunity to prove their worth," Amien warned.
PAN Secretary-General Faisal Basri reaffirmed his party's
opposition to the appointment of military representatives to the
House.
"ABRI always calls on us to act constitutionally. But it is
the military themselves who are unconstitutional by demanding
appointed seats in the House," Faisal said in Yogyakarta.
Among the most controversial draft decrees on the MPR agenda
is the one approving the appointment of ABRI representatives in
the DPR, although a smaller number than the current 75.
However, what has made most students and the around 70 newly
created political parties (not yet represented in the MPR)
strongly opposed to the session is what is conspicuously absent
from the MPR agenda.
Included among the most important aspirations of the people
that have yet to be met are demands for the prosecution of
Soeharto for political and economic crimes, a thorough
investigation into his wealth and that of his family members and
cronies, an end to ABRI's sociopolitical role, a firm date for a
general election and a guarantee of open, free and honest polls
and the abolition of the law compelling political parties to have
the state ideology Pancasila in their constitutions.
Faisal said one measure of the success of the MPR session
would be whether it could issue a decree on an open, fair, honest
election organized by an independent committee next May.
"The government will incite people's anger if the MPR Special
Session does not adopt proreform decrees," warned Matori Abdul
Djalil, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) in
Cilegon, West Java, on Sunday.
The MPR, Matori said, should met the people's demand for
overall reform through an open, fair, honest election in May and
the purging of all Soeharto proteges from the Cabinet.
(23/44/rms/nur/vin)