Gus Dur orders Soeharto's guards to be disarmed

Gus Dur orders Soeharto's guards to be disarmed

JAKARTA (JP): After ordering the arrest of former president
Soeharto's son two days ago, President Abdurrahman Wahid launched
another verbal attack on him on Sunday and ordered his personal
bodyguards to be disarmed.

"I have asked Bakin (the State Intelligence Coordinating
Agency) chief, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police
chiefs to disarm former president Soeharto's bodyguards,"
Abdurrahman was quoted by Antara as saying.

Speaking to a gathering of religious leaders in the North
Sumatra capital of Medan, Abdurrahman added that the order only
included Soeharto's personal bodyguards, and not the TNI or
police personnel officially stationed at Soeharto's residence in
Central Jakarta.

The President also said that the order to disarm Soeharto's
bodyguards was made in connection with the recent bomb attacks
and sectarian violence in the country.

"There is no other way, because they pretend that they are
going to use the guns for self-defense while actually (the guns)
have been used to undermine the government," Abdurrahman said.

Top government officials have alleged that those loyal to the
New Order regime are behind the recent wave of terrorism.

Abdurrahman said earlier that "drastic measures" against
those responsible for the incidents had to be taken to prevent
similar ones from taking place again.

Abdurrahman said on Friday he had ordered police to arrest
Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra over the
bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange.

He also said he had ordered the Jakarta Police chief to arrest
Habib Ali Baagil, a member of the militant Islam Defenders Front
(FPI), for his alleged involvement in the bombing of the stock
exchange building.

On Sunday, Abdurrahman said he had been told by Syaifullah
Yusuf, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama's civilian militia, that
Habib Ali was loyal to the President.

"I then told Syaiful to tell Habib Ali that if he is loyal (to
me) then he should surrender his weapons to the police,"
Abdurrahman said.

"I'm giving him a week to do that".

Abdurrahman also said members of the Army were hindering a
police investigation into the bombing of the Attorney General's
Office in July.

"It is clear that the bomb was produced by the state munitions
factory Pindad and was channeled to the army ... the National
Police chief has reported to me that there were certain members
of the army who objected to the investigation," he said.

He said he would order these members be questioned. He
mentioned no names.

The bomb at the Attorney General's Office exploded shortly
after Tommy Soeharto left the premises after being questioned by
prosecutors over a corruption scam.

Abdurrahman also said that a number of people had recently
visited the State Palace at night to tell him that they were not
behind the violent incidents in the country.

"They said that they were not involved in this and that, and
that they are loyal to me. But I just listened because I only
rely on (intelligence) reports," Abdurrahman said.

In the Central Java capital of Semarang on Saturday, the
President said the blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building,
which killed at least 10 people most of whom were drivers and
security guards, was a senseless act. (byg/har)