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