Pabottingi urges Habibie to fire Wiranto

Pabottingi urges Habibie to fire Wiranto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Political expert Mochtar Pabottingi holds
President B.J. Habibie responsible for the ongoing bloodshed in
Aceh, saying the President should exert his authority and dismiss
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto.

Pabottingi said the deployment of Crack Riot Troops in Aceh
amounted to a continuation of the decade-long military operation
launched during Soeharto's regime and formally halted last year.

"This is so saddening, adding to the pain of the Acehnese (who
suffered) under Soeharto and who now have to suffer under
Habibie," Pabottingi said after addressing a seminar held by the
Interfaith Dialog Institute here on Saturday.

The latest report of violence was reported Sunday in North
Aceh, when a journalist of the Medan Pos daily, Supriadi, was
found dead with his throat cut. On Saturday police chief First
Lt. M. Diah of the Tanah Luas district in North Aceh was reported
missing. The remains of his charred motor cycle was found on
Friday.

"With his authority, Habibie could withdraw the crack troops
and he could dismiss Wiranto if necessary, but he has not done
it. So Habibie is responsible (for the bloodshed)," Pabottingi
said.

He said military violence never solved problems, but rather
aggravated situations. "Violence only breeds resistance. People
can only take so much brutality. If that limit is breached,
people will resist."

"Withdraw all troops from Aceh. Let the Acehnese solve their
problems by holding a dialog among themselves," he said.

In Jakarta, an Acehnese professor at the state-run Jakarta
Teachers Training College, Hasballah M. Saad, said violence in
the province would only cause the Acehnese to intensify their
resistance, particularly because they believed the government did
not care about their suffering.

In a discussion attended by around 100 Acehnese here,
Hasballah said the underlying problem in Aceh was not the
secessionism waged by the Free Aceh Movement.

Islam

The restiveness in the province is caused by injustice, human
rights abuses and other social problems, including the
government's disregard of the special characteristics of the
Acehnese and its repression of the Islamic movement, he said.

"Most Acehnese are angered over the continued abuses of human
rights by the military, the unfair distribution of revenue
resulting from the exploitation of Aceh's natural resources and
the repression of the Islamic movement," Hasballah said.

A Golkar legislator who hails from Aceh, Muchtar Aziz, said
the military had so far launched at least three major operations
against separatism in Aceh, sowing hatred among the Acehnese.

"Thousands of Acehnese have been killed in these operations
and no investigations have been carried out by the government.
The people are not only very disappointed, but are also suffering
from a serious trauma," he said.

The two men urged Habibie's administration to hold dialogs
with the Acehnese, separatist guerrillas, the military and non-
governmental organizations.

All involved parties should seek a comprehensive solution to
the problems in Aceh, which are too massive to be dealt with
through repression, Hasballah said.

Muslim figure Ahmad Soemargono concurred, speculating the
military was actually trying to stop the development of Islam in
the predominately Muslim province. He called on the government
and the military to recognize the Islamic and cultural identities
of the Acehnese.

"Islam in Aceh will never raise extremist groups," he said.

In Bandung on Saturday acting chairman of the Indonesian
Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI), Achmad Tirtosudiro, said
while the settlement should consider the Acehnese' aspirations,
"I do not agree if Aceh secedes."

The Acehnese people's demand to apply Islamic laws was an
urgent need which should be taken into account, he said.

On Sunday during a visit to Sukabumi, West Java, Minister of
Religious Affairs Malik Fadjar stated support of the adoption of
Islamic law in Aceh, Antara reported.

"It would not mean a state within a state" but would be within
the wider autonomy in line with the new law on regional autonomy,
he said. Acehnese have said the special status of their province,
unlike the two other such provinces, namely Jakarta and
Yogyakarta, has never been put into effect.

Instead violence has continued, and the killings in Aceh over
the last three months have prompted international condemnation.
The British and United States governments have pressed the
Indonesian government to investigate the incidents.

The military has defended its operation to crush the
separatist movement in Aceh, and has blamed the recent killings
on armed rebels. It has also rejected pressure to withdraw riot
troops from Aceh.

In Yogyakarta, 36 students and activists continued on Saturday
their hunger strike in protest of military violence in Aceh.
Initiated by three activists to protest the police's shoot-on-
sight order in Aceh, the group is now camping out on the campus
of Gadjah Mada University.

Also on Saturday, Muslim politician Abdurrahman Wahid met with
Habibie and revealed his plan to visit Aceh and help broker a
peaceful and comprehensive solution to the province's problems.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, said he would make the
visit shortly after he returns from a two-week trip to the U.S.
for medical treatment. He was scheduled to depart on Sunday.

Aceh students protested Abdurrahman during his campaign visit
to the province in May, accusing him of belittling their plight
and of not understanding the situation in Aceh. (23/rms/swe/43)