Gus Dur, Soeripto make half-hearted peace

Gus Dur, Soeripto make half-hearted peace

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid (left in photo) and the
former secretary-general at the Ministry of Forestry, Soeripto,
made peace on Friday after having been embroiled for some time in
a political feud.

They met at the residence of M. Hatta, one of Indonesia's
founding fathers, in Central Jakarta.

Hosted by economist Sri Edi Swasono, Hatta's son in law, and
facilitated by politician Agus Miftah, the reconciliation was
arranged to coincide with the first day of the Muslim holy month
of Ramadhan.

The hostility began when Abdurrahman, who was president at the
time, accused Soeripto of, among other things, selling state
secrets to Japan and Australia, plotting to oust him from the
presidency and fermenting unrest in Sampit and Ambon.

The accusations cost Soeripto his job. In turn, he accused
Abdurrahman of slander and sued him. He won the first round in
his legal battle when a court ordered Abdurrahman to pay Rp 400
million in non-material damages to Soeripto.

However, the reconciliation seemed to be only half-hearted.

Abdurrahman said he could not even remember accusing Soeripto
of treason but was sorry for whatever he had said, pointing out
that to err was human.

"As a human being, I certainly make mistakes. I would
therefore like to apologize and extend my forgiveness to mas
Ripto who, as another human being, has also made many mistakes in
his dealings with me," he said.

Soeripto said he could forgive Abdurrahman but vowed to
continue with his law suit if Abdurrahman ever repeated his
accusations.--JP