Next year's election to proceed safely, says Lt. Gen. Moetojib
Next year's election to proceed safely, says Lt. Gen. Moetojib
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the State Intelligence Coordinating
Board Lt. Gen. Moetojib predicted minor security disturbances
ahead but was confident that next year's general election would
proceed smoothly.
Speaking to the press before attending a cabinet meeting
Tuesday, Moetojib also expressed hope that the general political,
economic and social condition would be under control.
"There will be glitches (coming from the internal conflicts)
in the Indonesian Democratic Party," he said.
He did not rule out the possibility that the obstacles may
also come from foreign pressures on Indonesia's sovereignty over
East Timor and over its human rights records.
Those countries have vested interests in Indonesia, so they
are likely to raise human rights issues, he said.
Moetojib, a former governor of the National Resilience
Institute, said the Indonesian government and nation pay great
attention to human rights issues. "The state ideology Pancasila
is full of teachings about human rights," he said. "No single
country is entitled to teach us about human rights."
"Nobody needs to pressure us about human rights because we're
already concerned about it," he said.
He also said Indonesia is determined to hold on to East Timor
and will attempt to "win the hearts" of pro-independence
supporters there.
"Internally, we have to strengthen the matter of integration
in the sense that we should be able to win the hearts of East
Timorese so that all integrate (with Indonesia)," he said.
The former Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated into
Indonesia in 1976, but the United Nations still recognizes Lisbon
as the administering power. There are also people in the tiny
province who are still opposing the integration.
"No matter how sophisticated our diplomacy is, it would be
difficult to settle the problem of East Timor if it is not even
settled internally," Moetojib said.
He said he believed those who still disagreed with the
integration of East Timor into Indonesia, including those living
in exile, were only a "few people" but "very vocal". (swe)