PPP urges government to be more decisive
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)