Gus Dur's claim could backfire, observers say

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's claim that many of Indonesia's violent conflicts could be traced to members of the House of Representatives or the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) could backfire and cost him political support, observers say.

Rather than calming the political situation, the President's remarks, made in Bali on Saturday, would further destabilize the country, they said on Monday.

Bara Hasibuan, deputy secretary-general of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said the onus was on the police to prove the President's claims.

"I regret Gus Dur dropping such a bomb. He should not have said it because he has sown even more confusion, not just for the public but also for law enforcement agencies," Bara told The Jakarta Post.

The police must quickly come up with the evidence, he said.

If his claims are proven true, however, the people would support the President's move all the way, he said.

"PAN will support him if the remarks were intended to uphold the law and end the violent unrest sweeping the country," he said.

The President said on Saturday that he had approved requests by the National Police "to arrest" a number of legislators believed to have been behind many of the conflicts in the country, including the sectarian clashes in Maluku.

As his office backtracked on the statement, insisting that the permission was for the police to question legislators as witnesses, the President stuck by his statement on Monday, even setting a July 15 deadline for the police to make the arrests.

Ichlasul Amal, rector of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said the President's political standing would plunge if he could not come up with solid evidence to back up his claim.

If this was intended to be a political maneuver ahead of the meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in August, "this was not an effective one", Ichlasul said.

He warned of even more political instability in the run-up to the August General Session unless the President changed his style and stopped making more controversial statements.

The President is due to present his progress report to the MPR in August, and some of his staunch critics have warned that the session could be turned into a process to impeach him.

Rubiyanto Misman, rector of Jendral Soedirman University in Purwokerto, Central Java, also said that the police must quickly come up with proof.

"The most important thing is to establish the truth. Members of the House or Assembly may have been offended by the statement but if it is true, the law should be upheld," Rubiyanto said.

Matori Abdul Djalil, MPR deputy chairman from the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), urged the Attorney General's Office to launch an immediate investigation in order to end all public speculation concerning the case.

"The attorney general should be responsive to the President's statement. Launch the investigation and disclose the names of these persons," Matori said as quoted by Antara.

Other House or Assembly members should not feel intimidated by the President's remarks if they are not guilty, he said, adding that they should continue to be critical of the President. (44/45/dja)