Gus Dur continues overseas trip despite Sampit rage
Gus Dur continues overseas trip despite Sampit rage
By Budiman Moerdijat
CAIRO (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said here on Monday that he would continue his two-week overseas trip despite the bloody ethnic pogrom raging in Central Kalimantan.
Abdurrahman said he had already consulted with Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and National Police chief Surojo Bimantoro on whether or not he should cut short his peregrinations, "but they both said that I should continue my trip."
He said that he had consulted both of them after he had received calls from Indonesia urging him to return.
When pressed to disclose the names of those who had been calling on him to cut short his trip, Abdurrahman said : "There were several, but I can't disclose there names to you."
Citing reports from Susilo and Surojo, Abdurrahman said that the situation in Sampit, where a week of murderous attacks, mostly perpetrated by ethnic Dayaks on Madurese settlers, have left at least 300 dead, was now "fully under control".
"Both said the most critical time in Sampit had passed and that the security forces were already there to restore order, and that two battalions of Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) troops were also on their way," Abdurrahman told reporters traveling with the presidential entourage.
He admitted, however, that he had been "a bit concerned" with the violence.
"I would, therefore, like to convey my condolences to the families of the victims and my deepest sympathy to those who have had to flee the violence," Abdurrahman said referring to the chaotic evacuation of some 24,000 Madurese refugees.
Abdurrahman has been under mounting criticism back home for leaving behind the Sampit violence.
The President then accused the media of "exaggerating" and said that media reports of decapitated corpses lying on the streets of Sampit were untrue.
"There is an attempt to blow the violence out of all proportion ... in Sampit the death toll is 191 and it is not true that bodies were found lying in the streets," Abdurrahman said.
He added, however, that Susilo told him that "two headless bodies" had been found when he visited Sampit on Sunday.
Cooperation
Commenting on his talks with Egyptian President Husni Mubarak earlier in the day, Abdurrahman said the two had discussed the stalled Middle East peace talks and how to further expand cooperation between Jakarta and Cairo.
Abdurrahman is scheduled to leave for Nigeria on Tuesday morning to meet with Nigerian President Olusegun Abasanjo. From there he will fly to Sudan for the next leg of his foreign tour which will include a Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
He is not expected to return to Jakarta until March 7.