Former fighters visit leaders' graves

Former fighters visit leaders' graves

By Imanuddin

BLITAR, East Java (JP): Former independence fighters, some of
whom are senior statesmen, began yesterday a journey to pay their
respects to Indonesia's founding fathers, starting with the late
president Sukarno's grave here.

House Speaker Wahono, former house speaker Mohamad Kharis
Suhud, former defense minister Poniman and Moslem leader A.
Dahlan Ranuwihardjo are included in the 92-strong entourage
paying the devotional visits. Making a standout appearance in the
group is controversial Moslem scholar Abdurrahman Wahid, who was
invited by the Yayasan Pembela Tanah Air (Yapeta), an
organization of the former fighters that arranged the trip.

Wahono, Kharis Suhud and Poniman, however, were absent from
the visit to Sukarno's grave.

Megawati Soekarnoputri, the eldest daughter of Sukarno, was
the host at yesterday's ceremony. During the short trip she made
from the family's home in Blitar to the grave, the ousted chief
of the minority Indonesian Democratic Party was greeted by some
2,000 cheering supporters.

Wahono and Poniman reportedly planned to visit the grave as
well but were left behind at Blitar's City Hall due to some
misarrangement of transportation. At the hall, they joined a
function with Minister of Social Services Inten Soeweno.

The city of Blitar holds a special significance for the former
fighters. Pembela Tanah Air (Peta) was formed as "Indonesia's
Armed Forces" during Japanese occupation in 1943, and was meant
as a defense against the Allies.

Though it was under Japanese control, its leaders were
Indonesian officers who were strong nationalist. In February
1945, Peta member Suprijadi led a revolt in Blitar against the
Japanese occupation.

House Speaker Wahono was a Peta soldier in the East Java town
of Kediri.

From Blitar, the entourage went on to Yogyakarta. Today,
Wahono and the others will pay a visit to the grave of Gen.
Sudirman, the founding father of Indonesia's Armed Forces, and
meet with his widow.

They will then proceed to Jakarta and pay their respect at the
grave of Indonesia's first vice president, the late M. Hatta who,
together with Sukarno, proclaimed Indonesia's independence in
1945. Hatta's son-in-law Sri Edi Swasono is also in the
entourage.

Pamoe Rahardjo, who organized the trip, said the devotional
visits was suggested by Gen. (ret) A.H. Nasution, Indonesia's
senior military figure, in order to remind the nation "to unite
and forgive one another ... to end conflicts among elements in
society."

"The visit to Bung Karno's grave is meant as an opportunity to
ask him for forgiveness," he said. Nasution was absent due to ill
health.

Pamoe said there had been "concern" among the former fighters
about the country's recent situation, but he refused to
elaborate.

He only said that the visit had received "the blessing of
President Soeharto", and that the President was also informed
about the presence of Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the 30
million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, in the
entourage.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, concurred. The visit by
the senior citizens, he said, was like hailing those who have
gone before them. "The former fighters are following soon," he
said.

Commenting on Wahono's absence yesterday, Abdurrahman said:
"It's usual for someone not to show up to an invitation. The trip
itself is already significant, a positive development for this
nation.

"This is important, an achievement, even if it didn't proceed
smoothly," said Abdurrahman. "This shows that our people know how
to put things into perspective. To learn from the past, when
differences in opinion or thoughts did not necessarily negate
relations."

Abdurrahman, who became the center of speculation following
his reported shift in political alliance from Megawati to Golkar
leader Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, said he remains "like a brother"
to Megawati.

"Don't politicize my relationship with Megawati," he said.