Petisi 50 criticizes Soeharto's speech
Petisi 50 criticizes Soeharto's speech
JAKARTA (JP): The Petisi 50 group of noted government critics
urged the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) yesterday to
reject President Soeharto's accountability speech and beseeched
them not to reelect the 76-year-old president.
"It's not only because he (Soeharto) has failed to make
himself truly accountable for things which should be delineated,
but also because he has been in the post for more than two
terms," the group said in a statement.
According to the highly vocal group which comprises many
former senior government and military figures, Sunday's
accountability address should have been delivered to the
1992/1997 Assembly, not the 1998/2004 one, since it was the
former congress that gave him the presidential mandate.
The group also disparaged the content of the speech because it
failed to answer various issues concerning state governance over
the past five years.
Instead, the group said in its statement, the speech resembled
more of a technical explanation of government activities.
They contended that the speech should have accounted for and
explained what they claimed to be abuses of power as a result of
corruption, collusion, nepotism and monopolies.
"Given these considerations, President Soeharto's
accountability speech of March 1 cannot be considered an
accountability address but instead only an official technical
explanation," the statement said.
On account of this, the Petisi 50 asked the Assembly to
establish a special commission to examine the omitted elements of
Soeharto's speech.
Petisi 50 was formed in May 1980 by 50 prominent figures,
include several of President Soeharto's own peers from various
services of the Armed Forces.
Even though many of the original siganitories have passed
away, the remaining members are still outspoken in their opinions
of the government.
In yesterday's statement, the group suggested that given his
age, incumbent Soeharto should be noble and say that he did not
wish to be renominated for a seventh consecutive term.
Soeharto has held the presidency since 1968.
Among the Petisi 50 members who signed yesterday's petition
were former governor of Jakarta Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin,
former police chief Gen. (ret) Hoegeng Iman Santoso and former
student activist Chris Siner Key Timu.
This is not the first public call for the Assembly to reject
President Soeharto's speech.
A day earlier 20 representatives from the University of
Indonesia presented a similar petition to Assembly members.
However, these calls seem to be more or less unheeded as the
Assembly's Commission C in charge of deliberating the president's
accountability endorsed yesterday Soeharto's address leaving the
way open for the Assembly to formally accept the speech in a
plenary session on Monday. (swa)