Habibie to meet Megawati, Soeharto

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.