Habibie's comments under fire

Habibie's comments under fire

JAKARTA (JP): Observers criticized President B.J. Habibie
yesterday for recent remarks on Chinese-Indonesians who fled the
country in the wake of last May's riots.

Political expert Harry Tjan Silalahi of the Centre for the
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and chairman of the
Chinese-Indonesians Reform Party (PARTI) Lieus Sungkharisma
termed as "deplorable" Habibie's statements in an interview with
the Washington Post on Saturday.

Habibie reportedly said the country's economy would survive
even if ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs did not return because their
role would be filled by other Indonesians.

"If the Chinese community doesn't come back because they don't
trust their own country and society, I cannot force (them),
nobody can force them," the President said.

"But do you really think that we will then die?"

"Their place will be taken over by others," the Post quoted
him as saying.

Harry said: "It's a very irresponsible remark from a
statesman, if he wants to consider himself as one."

"As a president of a country, even when one of your countrymen
is unsatisfied, you have to find out why and you have to regret
it if they should flee their own country. Settle the problem if
you can."

Lieus, contacted separately, supported Harry's view.

"Habibie should have shown his deep concern over the exodus
(of the ethnic Chinese), over why it happened.

"His remarks are not compatible with the country's campaign to
draw foreign investors."

Harry and Lieus believed Habibie's remarks could be
misinterpreted and subsequently fuel suspicions among thousands
of Chinese-Indonesians still abroad that they might not be
welcomed back.

"If Chinese-Indonesians are afraid, what about new foreign
investors who want to come in?" Harry said.

In the interview, Habibie acknowledged the May rioting could
have been incited by an organized force and that Chinese-
Indonesians were the target.

But he said Chinese-Indonesians who were not attacked and
survived the mayhem were those who had "integrated into society"
and "helped the other people".

Habibie also said that the tension between ethnic Chinese-
Indonesians and indigenous Indonesians was "more social" in
nature.

Although they make up less than 5 percent of the country's
population of more than 202 million, Chinese-Indonesians form the
backbone of the economy.

Analysts have said the country will have a more difficult time
recovering from its economic crisis without their capital and
business skills.

Bakom-PKB

Separately yesterday, a delegation of the state-sponsored
Communication Forum for National Unity (Bakom-PKB), in a hearing
with the House of Representatives' Commission II on home affairs,
urged the government to guarantee the safety of all citizens
regardless of their racial background and to scrap all existing
"discriminative" legal products.

Bakom-PKB spokeswoman Rosita S. Noer said the government had
yet to show its political will to campaign for the safety of
everybody, as indicated by sporadic and unchecked looting across
the country.

"It is not only the country's 'nonindigenous' people who
aren't feeling safe, even 'indigenous' people are feeling
insecure nowadays," she said.

Bakom-PKB members who attended the hearing included lawyer
Todung Mulya Lubis, senior journalist Fikri Jufri, businessman
Steve Sondakh, and former national badminton player Christian
Hadinata. (aan)