Govt looking for actors behind street rallies

Govt looking for actors behind street rallies

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has moved to look for possible masterminds
behind the rowdy street rallies against the utility and fuel
price hikes, which appear to be turning into a movement to topple
the government.

Shortly after receiving a delegation from the National
Awakening Party under Alwi Shihab at her residence on Jl. Teuku
Umar, Central Jakarta, President Megawati Soekarnoputri held an
unscheduled meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian Military
(TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and National Police chief
Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to discuss the issue.

A source close to the President told The Jakarta Post that
Megawati had asked her top security advisers about the possible
involvement in the rallies of former TNI chief Gen. (ret)
Wiranto, National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker and former finance
minister Fuad Bawazier, former cooperatives minister and current
chairman of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals
(ICMI) Adi Sasono and the chairman of the Bung Karno Nationalist
Party, Eros Djarot.

The three senior officials left Megawati's residence
speechless.

Fuad, who chairs the Islamic Student Alumni Community (KAHMI),
has been singled out by the deputy chairman of Megawati's
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Roy
B.B. Janis, as a possible actor behind the demonstrations.

Wiranto, and Eros, who left the PDI Perjuangan over his
disappointment with Megawati, have each talked about a presidium
to take over from the current government.

It was also reported that the National Intelligence Agency
(BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono disclosed the names of the four
figures during Monday's Cabinet meeting and planned to clarify
the report with them some time this week.

Both Adi and Eros denied on Tuesday allegations that they were
behind the nationwide rallies.

Adi condemned the government for failing to learn from the New
Order's mistakes by seeking to scapegoat third parties instead of
rectifying its own mistakes.

"This afternoon, I tried to clarify with officials from BIN
about whether or not their superiors wanted to question me, but
they said they had no such plans.

"They also refused to discuss the issue further," Adi told a
press conference.

Separately, Eros said the allegations were ridiculous and
asked how it would be possible for him to work together with
other people "who have a different political platform from me".
He was referring to Wiranto, Fuad and Adi.

Responding to the heightening political tension between the
government and its critics, People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker Amien Rais suggested on Tuesday that Wiranto, Adi, Fuad
and Eros meet with BIN officials for talks to examine the
accuracy of the allegations.

Amien, who is also the PAN chairman, asserted that the public
had a right to know the basis for the allegations in order to
prevent unfounded suspicions from arising.

Susilo has twice warned of "certain parties" being behind the
antigovernment rallies, whose final goal was to replace the
current administration. He also announced that there was a
scenario to create martyrs among the protesters, including
students.

The minister described the "certain parties" as being radical
religious and leftist groups, and those suffering from what he
described as "post-power syndrome".