Habibie defends treason inquiry into opposition

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie's allegation that a group of opposition figures attempted to topple his government was made on strong foundations, a cabinet minister said on Thursday.

Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung said the allegation was not a mere ploy to divert public attention from other matters.

Akbar said the President met with at least six ministers before he issued a statement on the matter and ordered Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto to take stern measures.

"It is natural that the government needs to explain... about certain groups' attempts to replace the government," Akbar said after meeting with Habibie at the Merdeka Palace.

The police brought a number of people in for questioning, including Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris of the National Front opposition group and Maj. Gen. (ret) Hariadi Dharmawan of the National Reform Movement. Both were signatories to a "joint communique" calling for an end to Habibie's administration that was issued last week. The group also called for the establishment of a presidium to replace the current government.

In the communique, the group called for the results of last week's Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to be rejected.

Habibie met with senior ministers last Saturday, including Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, Wiranto, Minister of Information Lt. Gen. Muhammad Yunus, Akbar and Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib, before calling attention to the people he accused of staging a rebellion.

"The President used the term treason after deep consideration and consultation with his aides," Akbar noted.

In a separate meeting with church leaders on Thursday, the President said he had never jailed anyone just because they had different political opinions from him.

"According to him, it is proof that he is serious in reforming the country," a priest named Bambang Wijaya said after meeting with Habibie.

A monthly limited ministerial meeting on political and security affairs supported the treason inquiry. The meeting noted that police are now in the process of categorizing the 12 suspects already questioned according to their degree of involvement.

"There are indications that an attempt at treason was made by the 12 signatories (of the joint communique)," according to I Wayan Karya, the spokesman for Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung.

"The police are now trying to establish who the leaders were, who was actively involved and who assisted in the matter," he said.

Meanwhile, Antara said the government has imposed a travel ban on 17 opposition figures suspected of plotting to topple the government, director general for immigration Pranowo confirmed on Thursday.

Pranowo said his office has received a letter from the police dated Nov. 18 requesting that the 17 figures who signed the joint communique be barred from leaving the country.

The 17 figures include former Jakarta governor Marine Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin; Kemal Idris, who is a former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad); Hariadi Dharmawan; economist Sri Edi Swasono; his younger brother Sri Bintang Pamungkas; Diah Mutiara Sukmawati, who is a daughter of founding president Sukarno; and businessman Meilono Soewondo.

"I have ordered the circulation of their names to all immigration gates in the country," Pranowo said.

Separately, Daniel S. Lev, a political analyst at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, cited how governments always charge opposition figures with treason.

"It's a common phenomenon," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Indonesia Forum Conference at the Jakarta Convention Center in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

In a related development, secretary-general of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations Oetomo S., dismissed speculation that Hariadi Dharmawan's sudden replacement as the ministry's inspector general was politically motivated.

"Hariadi Dharmawan's replacement had been arranged a long time ago by the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations," Antara quoted Oetomo as saying on the sidelines of a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding between the forestry ministry and the Navy over the maintenance and operation of the ministry's BO-105 and Hughes-500 helicopters.

Hariadi will be replaced by the lesser known Brig. Gen. Soentoro. The presidential decree stating this was signed by Habibie on Oct. 14. (prb/edt/das/imn)