FID seeks political support from Gus Dur
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Forum for Peace (FID) met with President Abdurrahman Wahid on Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to obtain the President's political support for its efforts to identify the perpetrators behind the Christmas Eve bombing incidents.
Head of the forum's team assigned to communicate with the state apparatus, Bara Hasibuan, said the visit was also aimed at persuading the government not to leave the case unsolved as has occurred with previous bombing cases.
"Learning from the police's past performance in handling such cases, we can see that none of them have been solved. The police will again meet stumbling blocks in their attempts to solve the bombing incidents this time.
"Therefore, we need a political commitment from the President to help the law enforcers handle these possible obstructions," he told journalists in the lobby of Hotel Indonesia.
He was referring to several bombing cases in Medan, North Sumatra, and one in the basement of the Jakarta Stock Exchange building late last year.
A forum member, Budiman Sudjatmiko, said that during the meeting the President admitted that it is difficult to solve the case because state intelligence personnel and the police cannot work hand in hand as a united force.
"To cope with such conditions, Gus Dur said that he will reorganize the State Intelligence Coordinating Body (BAKIN), citing a reshuffle in the near future," the chairman of the Democratic People's Party said while quoting Abdurrahman by his nickname.
"Gus Dur has given his support by also endorsing our proposal for the establishment of a joint fact-finding team with the government," he told The Jakarta Post by phone after the one-hour meeting.
Budiman said the fact-finding team would not only legitimize the work of the forum's investigative team, but also strengthen the will of the police to work against all odds in solving the case with the people's support.
The forum members included former ministers Emil Salim and Mar'ie Muhammad, Catholic priests/intellectuals Mudji Sutrisno and Franz Magnis-Suseno, sociologist Imam B. Prasodjo, economist Faisal Basri, artist Ratna Sarumpaet and legal activist Munir.
Earlier, during a media briefing on Wednesday, Budiman said the forum had not yet revealed the results of their investigation because they are still gathering more data.
"What we can say is that the bombings were not aimed solely at terrorizing the Christians, and that although the types of bomb are different in each place, the mastermind belongs to one group ... the old regime.
"We assume that they attempted to warn the government that they still exist, and have power which they can use as a bargaining tool to have the crimes in which they were involved forgotten," Budiman said.
A series of bomb explosions at churches in seven provinces on Christmas Eve have killed 17 people and injured dozens of others. (bby)