More officials join debate on foreign observers

JAKARTA (JP): The government is slowly revealing its agenda for the foreign observers who will be invited to monitor the May 29 general election, with more officials announcing what the foreigners will and will not be allowed to do.

Days after the General Elections Institute announced last week that foreign observers would be barred from investigating alleged violations or passing judgment on them, Attorney General Singgih said yesterday that the foreigners should not try and supervise any stages of the general election.

Singgih, who is also chairman of the Election Supervision Committee, said yesterday that Indonesian laws regulate the exact nature of foreign observers' role in a general election.

"They must not supervise, investigate, much less interrogate," Singgih said.

Only the official supervisors would have the right, for instance, to enter the cordoned off areas containing the polling booths and check forms, he said, implying that the foreign observers would be barred from doing so.

Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., in a surprising move, announced last week that foreign observers would be allowed to monitor all stages of the May 29 election.

Analysts concerned about possible vote-rigging and manipulation responded positively to the original announcement, despite there being no clear information as to who would be invited or what their itinerary would be.

Another high-ranking official differentiated foreign observers from foreign supervisors. Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo said in Semarang yesterday that Indonesia did not need foreigners to monitor the country's elections.

"We are capable of monitoring ourselves. The general elections we have conducted in the past went well. We don't need foreign supervisors."

He said that the Indonesians needed to see for themselves that the general election was safe, smooth and free from disturbances. "By inviting foreign supervisors, it's as if we have suspicious aspects to our general election.

"By inviting foreign supervisors, we are giving the impression that our past elections were rife with manipulation, while they were not. Besides, what if the foreigners then conduct investigations and meddle in the voting. It's not good at all.

"Foreign observers are welcome. But not supervisors. Observers are okay because our country has been observed by other countries already. There are plenty of foreign journalists working freely here, and they can be considered foreign observers, too. This is an open country," he said.

Political analyst Soehardjo S.S. of the Semarang-based Diponegoro University objected to the plan to invite foreign observers. "What do they know? They could only be familiar with general elections in their own country. Our country is different from theirs," he said.

He said Indonesia already has laws that guide the general elections, and that as long as its people follow the laws, they do not need foreign supervisors.

"We are a mature nation already and we can supervise ourselves. Besides, the general elections have now become a source of entertainment for our people," he said. (swe/05/har)