Mega takes issue of separatism seriously

Mega takes issue of separatism seriously

JAKARTA (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her new
Cabinet honed in on details of its working programs on Monday,
with an emphasis on maintaining national unity and lifting the
country out of the economic crisis.

According to her top security minister, in the first meeting
of the new Cabinet, Megawati decided that she would lead efforts
to bring peace to the restive provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya
where separatist unrest had been on the rise.

"The President will concentrate on the conflict in Aceh and
Irian Jaya," Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after the one-hour meeting.

It is not yet clear, however, how Megawati will approach the
separatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya.

Susilo only said that he was asked by the President to
immediately identify threats that would potentially endanger the
country's territorial integrity and measures that could be
implemented to deal with the problems.

"The President underlined that we have to find the best
measures to maintain the territorial integrity of the country,"
Susilo remarked.

When she was vice president, Megawati was tasked by former
president Abdurrahman Wahid with dealing with religious and
communal unrest in the Malukus. She has been criticized for
devoting little time to the issues.

After becoming president, Megawati assigned Vice President
Hamzah Haz to handle communal unrest in the Malukus, Central
Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi.

Hamzah said in Balik Papan, East Kalimantan, on Monday that he
would be very embarrassed if he were unable to solve the
sectarian clashes in those areas.

The vice president flew to Balikpapan minutes after the
Cabinet meeting to attend a peace declaration there by the local
chapter of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) aimed
at preventing another sectarian clash from breaking out in the
area.

"That is why I have come to this island and I hope the
declaration will be a good way to start resolving the continuing
conflicts across the country," Hamzah said as quoted by Antara.

Maintaining national unity is the first priority of the
Cabinet's six-point working program Megawati unveiled when
announcing the Cabinet lineup last Thursday. The other priorities
included continuing the reform and democratization process, and
normalizing the economic situation.

Susilo said that during the meeting Megawati gave ministers
pointers about their respective duties, reiterating that her
administration only had three years to make an impact.

The most important change in the current Cabinet is the new
role of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) and
the transfer of control over the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA) into the hands of State Minister of State
Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi.

In addition, Laksamana, an executive member of Megawati's
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), is also
tasked with acting as the representative of shareholders in state
companies.

Previously, IBRA, which controls billions of dollars in
assets, was under the Ministry of Finance, while the finance
minister legally controlled state enterprises.

"The finance minister is tasked with concentrating on efforts
to raise and safeguard state revenues, and to handle the matters
of the state budget and state treasury," Susilo told the press
conference.

Susilo was accompanied at the media conference by Coordinating
Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla. However,
it was only Susilo who outlined details of the meeting.

All three coordinating ministers refused to answer any
question asked by the large crowd of journalists gathered at the
presidential palace.

"I was assigned to disclose the guidelines of the meeting and
the question and answer session will be conducted tomorrow
(Tuesday) in my office," Susilo said.

He said that his office will oversee the ministries of home
affairs, foreign affairs, defense, justice and human rights, and
transportation, as well as supervising the National Intelligence
Agency, the Indonesian Military, the National Police and the
Attorney General's Office.

Meanwhile, the ministries of finance, energy and mineral
resources, industry and trade, agriculture, forestry,
transportation, maritime affairs and fisheries, manpower and
transmigration, resettlement and regional infrastructure, and the
state ministries of research and technology, cooperatives and
small and medium enterprises, and national development planning
will be under Dorodjatun's supervision.

Meanwhile, Jusuf Kalla will supervise the ministries of
health, national education, social affairs, religious affairs,
and the state ministries of tourism and culture, the environment,
administrative reforms and women's empowerment. (dja)