Kalla under fire for rebuking Lemhannas

Kalla under fire for rebuking Lemhannas

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Legislators lashed out at Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Wednesday
for reprimanding a state defense institute for criticizing the
ongoing Aceh peace talks.

The legislators even claimed that the reprimand could endanger
democracy.

An opposite opinion, however, came from a legislator of
Kalla's Golkar Party, who said the rebuke was just common.

Kalla reprimanded National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas)
Governor Ermaya Suradinata on Tuesday for urging a halt to the
peace talks, which Kalla is promoting to end decades of conflict
in Aceh. Ermaya expressed his opinion during a hearing with
legislators on Monday.

Ermaya said Lemhanas deemed the talks with the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM), which has been seeking independence since 1976,
were unconstitutional and would only help GAM internationalize
the issue.

Legislator Permadi from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P), which sees itself as the opposition in the
House, said Kalla's reprimand ran contrary to freedom of speech,
which was a core principle of democracy.

"Kalla crossed the line. Lemhanas is an independent body
despite the fact that it comes under the head of state, and Kalla
shouldn't have made such an arbitrary statement. Different views
are allowed," he said.

Permadi said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should warn
his deputy to avoid any recurrence.

A similar sentiment was raised by Effendi Choirie from the
National Awakening Party (PKB), who said that Lemhanas should be
free from political intervention.

"Lemhanas is an independent body that studies various issues.
If it gets reprimanded for holding dissenting views, its
independence will be compromised. Others may become reluctant to
voice different views if this kind of behavior is permitted," he
said.

Effendi criticized Kalla's response to the Lemhanas governor's
statements, adding that the President should be tougher with his
aides.

"The President is the one responsible for the direction taken
by the country. He should warn everyone, including the Vice
President, if they act improperly," he said.

Shidki Wahab from President Susilo's Democrat Party said Kalla
had acted "unethically" and was hindering democracy.

"President Susilo should talk to Lemhanas and also the
National Defense Board (which was also represented during the
hearing), to hear from them what the real situation is," he said.

Golkar legislator Afifuddin Thaib, however, was of the opinion
that Lemhanas should have consulted with the President first
before making its views public.

"As it's positioned under the President, it must coordinate
first with the President on its work before announcing its views,
especially to legislators. It could also get more comprehensive
data from the President to complete its work," he said.

The government, meanwhile, is set to press ahead with the
fifth round of talks with GAM in July, with one negotiator saying
that only two issues remained unsettled.

"The two issues still on the table are the creation of local
political parties and the reelection of councillors, both of
which are impossible. But I'm still optimistic," said Indonesia's
chief negotiator, Hamid Awaluddin, on Wednesday.

Hamid, who is also the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, said the
issue of Aceh's administrative status was also close to
resolution. GAM has asked for self-governing territory status for
Aceh.

"It's only a question of semantics. It's not independence, but
special autonomy. But we're working to fully settle this issue,"
he said.