Officers welcome Soeharto's 'clobber' statement
Officers welcome Soeharto's 'clobber' statement
JAKARTA (JP): Two senior military officers and a retired
general expressed support yesterday for President Soeharto's
threat to "clobber" anyone attempting to unseat him in an
unconstitutional manner.
Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen.
Syarwan Hamid said Soeharto's statements indicated the President
wanted the national leadership succession to proceed in a lawful
manner.
"Corrections to the current democracy should be made in
accordance with the Constitution," Syarwan said after
accompanying ABRI Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung on an inspection of
60,000 personnel being prepared to secure the May 29 general
election.
"O, yes! We'll clobber anyone who violates (the laws)," Feisal
said, using the exact words Soeharto had used.
Soeharto said in Boyolali, Central Java, Friday that he would
clobber anybody who tried to use unconstitutional means to unseat
him. It was his second such warning, with the first issued on his
way home from an East European trip in 1989.
When asked about individuals or groups that Soeharto's
comments might have been aimed at, Syarwan said ABRI had them
identified.
"The offenders, small and big, exist both within and outside
the system."
He identified the potential offenders as those who had been
alienated from the power structure, who were dissatisfied with
the present social and economical situation and those who were
"pure burglars."
He also dismissed suggestions that Soeharto's statement, in
which he said he was willing to step down only in a
constitutional way, was an attempt to gain public sympathy.
"For a president and the supreme commander of the Armed
Forces, it's natural to issue a warning like President Soeharto
has done," he said.
Political observer Gen. (ret) Rudini said Soeharto's statement
could have been prompted by information about a "plan for
unconstitutional action."
"President Soeharto has his own intelligence apparatus to
monitor (any planned law violations)," said Rudini, who is now
chairman of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Indonesia.
Rudini, a former minister of home affairs, said the
President's remarks were a warning to those potential
lawbreakers.
He said he did not know whom Soeharto was referring to, but
added they included people who had distributed pamphlets asking
the President to resign before his term of office was over.
"By our laws, it's possible to ask a president to resign, but
it has to be done through a general assembly of the People's
Consultative Assembly," he said.
The Assembly could unseat the President only if he was proven
to have failed to account for his leadership.
Rudini also dismissed speculation that Soeharto made the
statements out of fear over the latest developments in the social
and political situation, including the spate of unrest in the
last few months.
"The President was obviously concerned about a possible repeat
of the 1965 tragedy when the country was rocked by the outlawed
Indonesian Communist Party's abortive coup," he said. (imn/04)
JAKARTA (JP): Two senior military officers and a retired
general expressed support yesterday for President Soeharto's
threat to "clobber" anyone attempting to unseat him in an
unconstitutional manner.
Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen.
Syarwan Hamid said Soeharto's statements indicated the President
wanted the national leadership succession to proceed in a lawful
manner.
"Corrections to the current democracy should be made in
accordance with the Constitution," Syarwan said after
accompanying ABRI Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung on an inspection of
60,000 personnel being prepared to secure the May 29 general
election.
"O, yes! We'll clobber anyone who violates (the laws)," Feisal
said, using the exact words Soeharto had used.
Soeharto said in Boyolali, Central Java, Friday that he would
clobber anybody who tried to use unconstitutional means to unseat
him. It was his second such warning, with the first issued on his
way home from an East European trip in 1989.
When asked about individuals or groups that Soeharto's
comments might have been aimed at, Syarwan said ABRI had them
identified.
"The offenders, small and big, exist both within and outside
the system."
He identified the potential offenders as those who had been
alienated from the power structure, who were dissatisfied with
the present social and economical situation and those who were
"pure burglars."
He also dismissed suggestions that Soeharto's statement, in
which he said he was willing to step down only in a
constitutional way, was an attempt to gain public sympathy.
"For a president and the supreme commander of the Armed
Forces, it's natural to issue a warning like President Soeharto
has done," he said.
Political observer Gen. (ret) Rudini said Soeharto's statement
could have been prompted by information about a "plan for
unconstitutional action."
"President Soeharto has his own intelligence apparatus to
monitor (any planned law violations)," said Rudini, who is now
chairman of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Indonesia.
Rudini, a former minister of home affairs, said the
President's remarks were a warning to those potential
lawbreakers.
He said he did not know whom Soeharto was referring to, but
added they included people who had distributed pamphlets asking
the President to resign before his term of office was over.
"By our laws, it's possible to ask a president to resign, but
it has to be done through a general assembly of the People's
Consultative Assembly," he said.
The Assembly could unseat the President only if he was proven
to have failed to account for his leadership.
Rudini also dismissed speculation that Soeharto made the
statements out of fear over the latest developments in the social
and political situation, including the spate of unrest in the
last few months.
"The President was obviously concerned about a possible repeat
of the 1965 tragedy when the country was rocked by the outlawed
Indonesian Communist Party's abortive coup," he said. (imn/04)