Habibie saddened by violence
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie expressed his sadness on Saturday over the recent outburst of violence in several regions of the country, including Banyuwangi in East Java which has borne witness to more than 100 killings recently.
The President said the recent brutalities were a cause for sorrow because they had victimized many innocent people, including local Moslem leaders. He conceded that the government should be able to demonstrate to the public that it is serious in its efforts to uphold the law.
He therefore instructed the country's law enforcers to work hard to solve the murders, although he acknowledged that it was not an easy task to settle such a complex problem in a short time.
On Saturday, the President also, for the first time, openly talked about the riots and violence that took place throughout the 1980s. He mentioned "incidents which affected Moslems ... in Aceh, Lampung, Tanjung Priok and the ongoing case in Banyuwangi" as cases that attracted the attention of the international community.
Habibie was addressing the closing ceremony of the five-day Indonesian Moslem Congress at the Merdeka Palace.
Congress organizers said the event was intended to boost solidarity among Moslems, to help accelerate the reform program, and to help head off the possible disintegration of society.
Critics said the congress -- the first held since 1945 -- was an attempt to use Moslems to endorse and establish the legitimacy of Habibie's administration.
"Under the difficult situation now facing us, I can understand that some people have become impatient and lost their common sense in dealing with the problem facing us," Habibie said.
Saturday was the first time Habibie has publicly acknowledged public anger over human rights abuse in various parts of the country, including Aceh, Lampung and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta.
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in September urged the government to reinvestigate the 1989 Lampung incident, saying the death toll was at least 246 people, nearly eight times higher than the official account.
Led by then Col. Hendropriyono, troops clashed with a group calling itself Mujahidin Fisabilillah. One Army captain died in the incident. Lt. Gen. Hendropriyono is currently Minister of Transmigration.
The Tanjung Priok case -- when troops opened fire on demonstrators -- occurred in 1984. Human rights activists believe the death toll was also much higher than the military's official account, which states that nine people lost their lives.
Military atrocities became a somewhat regular occurrence in Aceh during the 10 years when the province was designated as a military operation region.
Also at Saturday's event, Ali Yafie, the deputy chairman of Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), presented Habibie with a five- page declaration prepared by the congress.
The congress participants stated in the declaration that they supported the People's Consultative Assembly Special Session, which is to be held from Nov. 10 through Nov. 13, the general election in May next year and presidential and vice presidential elections in December next year.
"The (congress) calls on all the nation to safeguard the three events as best as possible. The security forces are also expected to carry out their duty to safeguard the national agenda," it said.
It also demanded the government respond to allegations of human rights violations in Irian Jaya, East Timor, Tanjung Priok, and Aceh.
One congress commission issued a recommendation that the country's president and vice president should be Moslem and male, but this was excluded from the final agenda.
Critics said the gender requirement was directed at opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri. (prb)