Military, Police to oppose decree on state of emergency

Military, Police to oppose decree on state of emergency

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military and the National Police
reconfirmed on Monday their opposition to President Abdurrahman
Wahid's intention to declare a state of emergency ahead of the
planned People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) session.

Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, the commander of the Jakarta Military
Command, said the President should not issue a decree to declare
a state of emergency because such an action would worsen people's
livelihood.

"The military leadership has suggested the President drop his
plan because it would certainly worsen the lives of all the
people who are living in poverty as a result of the prolonged
crisis," he said in a joint news conference with city police
chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Jacob and MPR leaders here on Monday.

Several top military brass have repeatedly expressed their
disfavor of the emergency status, which would enable the
President to dissolve the House of Representatives and foil the
MPR session.

During the session, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 1, the
Assembly will ask Abdurrahman to account for his government's
poor performance, a request which the President has labeled as
unconstitutional. Abdurrahman has set a July 20 deadline for the
Assembly to cancel the impeachment hearing.

Sofjan agreed with Bibit, saying the Police would not heed the
President's instruction if the latter issued the decree on July
20.

"The National Police, under the leadership of Gen. Bimantoro,
would not comply with the decree if it is aimed at declaring a
state of emergency. Let the President issue the decree, but the
Police won't support it," he said.

Separately, six major factions in the Assembly reiterated that
they would call for a snap special session as soon as the
President declared the state of emergency.

"We will call on the Assembly's leadership to invite all
legislators to hold a special session two hours later if reports
saying the President will issue the decree at 6 p.m. on July 20
are true," Sophan Sophiaan, the chairman of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction in the
Assembly, said after a consultation meeting between the six
blocks.

Amien Rais, the Assembly speaker, said Assembly leaders would
call on all legislators, including members of the interest groups
and regional representatives, to stand by in the House of
Representatives compound on Friday in anticipation of any
issuance of the decree.

"The special session will be held soon after the decree is
issued," he said.

Muhaimin Iskandar, the secretary-general of Abdurrahman's
National Awakening Party (PKB), said his party would call on the
President to declare a state of emergency if factions in the
Assembly failed to strike a compromise before the special
session.

More support for Abdurrahman was aired by 11 minority parties,
which said that a state of emergency would end the mounting
conflict between the executive body and the legislative body.

"An emergency status must be declared because the conflict
between the executive body and the legislature has a lot to do
with the unfair power-sharing among members of the political
elite and not with people's suffering," Hadijoyo, the spokesman
for the minority parties, said.

Among the minority parties were the Murba Party, National
Labor Party (PNB), National Democratic Party (PND), Indonesian
National Party (PNI) and Indonesian Democratic Alliance Party
(PADI).

Hadijoyo said the President should set up a national board to
run a transitional administration and organize a free and fair
general election to form a new government.

Meanwhile, 100 ulemas and local figures in the town of
Sidoarjo, an industrial town adjacent to the East Java capital of
Surabaya, visited the provincial legislative council to express
their support for the issuance of the presidential decree and
their rejection of the special session.

The ulemas, grouped in the Sidoarjo Ulemas Forum, were led by
Dhofir and accompanied by Sidoarjo regent Wien Hendrarso. The
entourage was received by the speaker of the council Bisri Abdul
Djalil.

Before conveying their aspiration, the ulemas chanted a takbir
(verse) and tahlil (prayer) three times, which they meant as a
symbol that democracy had died in the country.

"We call on the political elite at the House of
Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly not to
make the special session a forum to impeach the President,"
Dhofir said. (nur/rms)