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)