Megawati reprimands minister over treasure hunt

Megawati reprimands minister over treasure hunt

Tiarma Siboro and Theresia Sufa, Jakarta/Bogor

The government called on Wednesday for an end to the polemic over
a treasure dig at the Batutulis protected historic site in the
West Java town of Bogor, after President Megawati Soekarnoputri
reprimanded Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Al Munawar
over the case.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla said
after a ministerial meeting that the President's reprimand was
considered sanction enough for Said Agil for his ordering of an
illegal excavation in an area of cultural significance.

"President Megawati has rebuked the minister, who has also
conveyed his apologies to the public," Kalla said. It was the
first time since assuming power in July last year that the
President has acted so firmly against one of her ministers.

During his visit to Medan on Tuesday, Said Agil apologized to
the Sundanese community and the Indonesian people in general for
the excavations, which have since been stopped. The minister
repeated his apology during a press briefing at his official
residence on Jl. Wijaya Chandra in South Jakarta on Wednesday.

Kalla said the reprimand, apologies and halting of the dig
were enough for the government to declare the case closed,
although the police have said the legal process against the
minister could go ahead.

Said Agil has come under fire over the past week for ordering
the excavations near a stone inscription left by the ancient
Pajajaran kingdom, whose territory mostly covered West Java. In
his argument, the minister said he was following the advice of a
cleric who somehow "detected" the presence of the treasure.

Various cultural and youth groups in West Java have demanded
Said Agil's resignation for insulting their pride, demands which
he has so far rejected.

Said Agil retracted his earlier claim that his move had been
approved by the President.

"I told her the story after a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 19, but
at that time she was not paying attention," the minister said.

Megawati was quoted by her aide Pramono Anung on Tuesday as
saying that she had never thrown her weight behind the minister's
plan.

Meanwhile, Bogor Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Setyo Wasisto
said the questioning of 12 witnesses in the case could lead to an
investigation of the minister.

"Just wait and see after Monday," Setyo said.

Causing damage to an historic site carries a maximum sentence
of 10 years in jail under the 1992 law on protected cultural
sites.

A police source who requested anonymity quoted a witness as
saying that Said Agil ordered South Bogor district chief Achmad
Adjidji and Batutulis subdistrict chief Taspin to excavate the
historic site ostensibly so that it could be renovated. On
Wednesday last week, he himself supervised the excavations, which
were carried out by eight diggers who were paid Rp 400,000 each.

Both Achmad and Adjidji were concerned about the project and
asked the diggers to halt the project pending a permit from an
authorized agency.

Also, representatives of student organizations across West
Java added to the pressure on Said Agil to resign. They
threatened to mobilize thousands of students to rally against the
minister in Jakarta if he failed to heed their demands.

The students came from various colleges including the Bandung
Institute of Technology, Padjadjaran University, Juanda
University and Parahyangan University.

They rallied near the Batutulis site to ask Megawati to
dismiss Said Agil for incompetence.

"The rallies will continue until Said Agil steps down. We were
silent when the Rancamaya historic site was demolished for a
luxury housing complex and a golf course. We are not going to
remain quiet again," Galih Santika, a student leader said.