Military chief guarantees no fresh unrest
Military chief guarantees no fresh unrest
BANDUNG (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung
guaranteed yesterday that every region in Indonesia was safe and
fresh outbreaks of mob violence were unlikely.
"ABRI is ready to safeguard every region. People have no
reason to worry about possible unrest in their areas," Feisal
said.
The media has exposed recent unrest in several areas so
dramatically that it creates the impression chaos is looming
large everywhere, he said.
Feisal was in Bandung to open a regular course on
sociopolitical issues for Armed Forces members.
The latest major unrest has been in West Kalimantan. The
Dayak-Madura ethnic conflict has claimed scores of lives and
caused untold damaged to property.
Between October and January, religious and anti-Chinese riots
broke out in the Java towns of Situbondo, Tasikmalaya and
Rengasdengklok. Rioters targeted mainly Christian and Chinese
property. At least ten people were killed; churches, Buddhist
temples, shops, houses and police posts were torched or damaged.
Feisal called on the media not to dramatize events so as not
to incite people into committing more violence.
When opening the course, the general alleged that some groups
who did not believe in the state ideology Pancasila were out to
undermine the government.
Some government opponents twist historical facts about the
1965 abortive coup and others formed organizations such as the
Democratic People's Party (PRD), the Indonesian People's Council
(MARI) and the Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) to play
politics outside the government-recognized system, Feisal said.
They exploit discrepancies in government development programs
and blow up the issue of socioeconomic disparity.
"They demand the five political laws be overhauled without
considering the real situation of the Indonesian people," he
said.
Key PRD activists, including its chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko,
are on trial for subversion; they have been accused of sowing
hatred against the government and ABRI.
PUDI, led by controversial politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas,
is not recognized by the government. In its latest move, the
"party" has drafted a document to replace the 1945 Constitution.
And MARI, which groups senior political activists, lawyers and
human rights campaigners is demanding lower prices and greater
democracy.
Feisal said that on the economic front, government critics
charge that the authorities have failed to implement Article 33
of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees that natural resources
are controlled by the state for the maximum benefit of the
people. (ahy/pan)