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)