PPP urges government to be more decisive
JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) has called on the government to be more succinct in resolving urgent national problems in the coming year.
Reflecting on the achievements of the new government so far, PPP chairman Hamzah Haz said the government had not succeeded in formulating a clear policy which could resolve pressing issues, particularly in Aceh, Maluku and Irian Jaya.
"The integral policies which should head toward resolving there problems are still unclear," he said during a gathering at his residence on Saturday.
He warned that failure to sufficiently solve these issues could lead to national disintegration.
Hamzah, who was appointed Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication by President Abdurrahman Wahid until he resigned last month, however, conceded that the President's attention was divided between managing a new government and the nation as a whole.
He pointed out that other pressing matters such as the eradication of corruption and ensuring better coordination within the Cabinet also needed to be resolved.
Speaking on his hopes for the legislature, Hamzah called on his colleagues at the House of Representatives and provincial councils to be heedful and to react to people's demands.
"Don't just be a polite listener in facing the dynamic situation evolving in the country," Hamzah asserted.
Distance
Separately, the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) in a statement urged the government to use the new year as a psychological momentum to correct past mistakes and take action on unresolved cases.
On calls for independence in Aceh, the association said the civilian government must take measures to distance itself from the Indonesian Military (TNI).
"The reason is quite clear: TNI is at the root of the problem which has led to the people of Aceh demanding the right of self- determination," association chairman Hendardi said in the statement.
The association accused TNI of repeated human rights abuses in the province which were conducted under the guise of maintaining national unity.
"If TNI is contingent and cannot be separated from the existence of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia then it is only logical that the only way to free oneself from the brutalities of TNI is to separate from Indonesia".
"This is the kind of thinking which currently pervades in Aceh".
On the year-long religious clashes in Maluku which have now claimed over 1,000 lives, the association said the government's actions were "too little, too late".
It said what was being done in Maluku now was merely an attempt to instill law and order.
The association stressed it was important for the government to keep a close watch on the work of security forces to ensure that the authority given to them did not descend into rights abuses. (mds)