Habibie to meet Megawati, Soeharto

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former president B.J. Habibie, now residing in Germany, plans to meet his predecessor Soeharto and President Megawati Soekarnoputri in his bid to build reconciliation among the country's former heads of state when he returns home early in March.

Chairman of The Habibie Center, Muladi, said during a press conference on Tuesday that during his stay in Jakarta, Habibie would try to hammer out a common political agenda among former heads of state in serving public interests, regardless of their different political stances.

Muladi, a close aide to Habibie, said a schedule had been arranged for Habibie to meet with President Megawati.

"The Habibie Center has sent a letter to the state secretariat requesting a time and a place for the meeting and it would likely take place on March 10," said Muladi, a justice minister under Soeharto and during the brief tenure of Habibie.

As for the encounter with Soeharto, Muladi would not reveal a specific timetable.

Muladi said Habibie had met Abdurrahman Wahid when the latter was in Switzerland last year.

Habibie succeeded Soeharto following mass protests and bloody riots in May 1998, and dropped his presidential bid after the People's Consultative Assembly rejected his accountability report in 1999.

The country's first four presidents made less than graceful exits.

Muladi said the meeting of current and past leaders was called for as rifts among them could deepen the crisis facing the nation.

"There seems to be an effort to isolate former heads of state in the country, so that they can't meet one another and hold a dialog," he said, adding that there were even attempts to spark conflict between them.

Habibie, who has spent most of his time in Germany since his term ended, will return home to attend the preparatory meeting of InterAction Council that his Habibie Center will organize on March 11 and 12 in Jakarta. The meeting will pave the way for the conference in St. Petersburg in September.

The council groups the world's former heads of states, and Habibie is a key member.

The St. Petersburg conference will aim to promote respect and reconciliation among nations.