Habibie's misdemeanors 'more stories' than Clinton's

The supposed recording of a telephone conversation between President B.J. Habibie and the attorney general has drawn a mixed response, with Habibie's loyalists demanding an investigation and the pro-democracy activists deploring the content of the conversation. Dr. H.S. Dillon of the National Commission on Human Rights believes the President should be impeached.

Question: What do you make of the furor over the tapping of the telephone conversation between President Habibie and Attorney General Ghalib?

Dillon: This could be a great setback for our march towards democratization. If the tape is authentic, the content means that Habibie and his government have been fooling the Indonesian people by posturing as reformers. The transcript reveals Habibie has committed at least two grave misdemeanors: abuse of the presidential office to eliminate political opponents ahead of the elections in directing Ghalib to persecute Panigoro and Wanandi, and obstruction of justice in the case of (the investigation into former) president Soeharto.

Q: How does this stand legally, and what of the tapping itself?

D: This is an oral presidential directive concerning the conduct of legal inquiry. As such, it lies in the public domain. Were it intelligence measures, concerning security of the country, then it would be classified as confidential. Or, if he were calling his wife concerning his heart condition, then the tapping and its subsequent public disclosure would comprise an invasion of privacy.

Legally, the grave misdemeanors provide adequate grounds for impeachment.

Q: What, impeach President Habibie? You can't be serious...

D: I am. Our 1945 Constitution confers large powers to the executive, as does the United States constitution. However, the Americans have their safeguards, to curtail abuse of the strong presidential powers. These safeguards range all the way from requiring senate confirmation of all presidential appointments to impeachment.

All of us, including our children, were deluged with pornographic details of President Clinton's dalliance with a White House intern as many Americans pushed to impeach President Clinton. For what? For perjury and obstruction of justice in the attempt to cover up his sexual conduct.

President Habibie's directives are much more serious offenses, more akin to Nixon's ordering of an illegal offensive against his democratic opponents.

We all know that the untiring investigations of two reporters into the Watergate break-ins led to President Nixon's resignation.

Q: But impeachment is not in our Constitution...

D: Well, if we want to build a civil society on our Constitution, then we should start looking for safeguards, too. This is the right time. Our people are suffering so much now, because we, the elite, opted to remain silent during Soeharto's regime. Because we were all enjoying the rapid growth, we allowed Soeharto and his family the excesses. Have we not learned our lesson? Do we want another authoritarian regime? No, I think it is high time that the Habibie, and all our people, learn that the Indonesian president is not above the law.

Q: What of Habibie's allegations against retired Gen. Prabowo?

D: That is an entirely separate matter. Gen. Wiranto is best placed to respond to such allegations. Or perhaps Gen. Feisal Tanjung might volunteer, and tell the Indonesian people more regarding army policy under former president Soeharto. For me, far more intriguing is then vice-president Habibie's role during the May 1998 riots. You must recall that president Soeharto was abroad at that time, automatically making Habibie the Commander- in-Chief. What were Habibie's directives then? Maybe retired Gen. Ahmad Tirtosudiro could disclose his role then, primarily his communications with Gen. Prabowo and Habibie at that critical period.

After President Habibie is removed from office, maybe citizens could file a class suit against him for failing to protect property and life during the May riots.

Q: Where will all this lead to?

D: I don't know, but if President Habibie is already abusing his powers to attack his opponents prior to the elections, I fear that fair elections will continue to elude us.

In previous elections, it is rumored that powers of incumbency allowed the executive to collect huge monies from the conglomerates, the state-owned enterprises, State Logistic Agency and state oil company Pertamina. Now that Habibie cronies are manning all these positions, I fear a repeat of old times.

I would therefore call upon all proponents of civil society, including the press and donors such as the World Bank and IMF, to keep close tabs on all dealings of these institutions over the next few months. Appointments (great sums are purported to be involved) of directors of state enterprises, all contracts (purchases, sales), work orders and the like should undergo thorough scrutiny. If we allow state money to be used to finance election campaigns, then we will have no one but ourselves to blame if the elections do not lead to greater democracy.