Gus Dur tells students to march to Cendana

Gus Dur tells students to march to Cendana

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has encouraged
students once again to march to Soeharto's residence on Jl.
Cendana if they are not happy with the court's decision to drop
the corruption case against the former president.

Speaking to reporters on the flight from Brasilia to Buenos
Aires, Abdurrahman stressed, however, that students must march
peacefully and orderly and refrain from destructive acts of
violence, Antara reported on Saturday.

The President was widely criticized at home when he made the
same suggestion the first time in Caracas on Tuesday evening that
students who wanted to see Soeharto tried in court should not be
prevented from getting close to the home of the former tyrant.

Many blamed his Caracas remarks for the violent clashes
between students, pro-Soeharto supporters and the police near Jl.
Cendana only hours after the South Jakarta District Court dropped
the corruption case on Thursday.

The court reached its decision after an independent team of
doctors testified that the 79-year-old Soeharto was "permanently"
too ill to stand trial. Soeharto was accused of embezzling US$590
million of state funds in his capacity as chairman of seven
charitable organizations.

Abdurrahman, who has also made public his contempt of the
court ruling, said on Friday that the military and the police
should not prevent demonstrators from marching to Jl. Cendana as
long as they do not endanger Soeharto's life.

The President, however, condemned Thursday's anarchy,
including the burning of military vehicles.

"I've repeatedly stated that we should respect the state
apparatus, particularly the security apparatus, like the
Indonesian Military and the National Police," he said.

Police said one person was killed and dozens others injured in
Thursday's clashes.

Abdurrahman, who is on a tour of Latin American countries and
Canada, denied that his request to the Supreme Court to replace
all the judges handling Soeharto's case amounted to an
intervention in the judiciary.

"This is not an intervention. This is a presidential request,
which, if not heeded, will anger the people," he was quoted as
saying by Antara.

He said the people's outrage was most visibly expressed by the
violence which erupted on Thursday after the court's verdict.

He said he had asked leaders of the Supreme Court to appoint
"clean and honest judges who cannot be bought" to handle
Soeharto's case at the High Court.

The government has stated its intention to appeal the district
court's decision to drop Soeharto's corruption case.

Earlier on Friday, during a meeting with the Indonesian
community in Brasilia, the President disclosed that he had asked
the police to issue a warrant to arrest pro-Indonesia East Timor
militia leader Eurico Guterres.

"Eurico will soon be arrested. We have already established
what crimes he has committed," he said without elaborating.

His statement was one step further to the one he made a day
earlier in that Eurico would be arrested if he had committed a
crime.

Eurico's arrest, he said, was crucial to show the world
Indonesia's commitment to resolve the East Timor problem. (emb)