Prabowo's explanation of troop deployment refuted
JAKARTA (JP): A senior advisor of President B.J. Habibie refuted Saturday a claim by former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto that he intended to defend Habibie's security the day after he assumed the presidency on May 21.
Presidential spokeswoman Dewi Fortuna Anwar said the First Family were evacuated from their residence in Kuningan, South Jakarta, because the deployment of additional troops around the home was considered a serious threat to their safety.
"If there was no security threat to the President at that time, why were Pak Habibie and his family evacuated to the State Guesthouse?" Dewi said, on the sidelines of the sixth anniversary of the Center for Information and Development Studies in Jakarta.
On Monday Habibie told a gathering of Asian and German editors that troops loyal to Prabowo were concentrated around his house on May 22. Habibie said he then ordered Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto to withdraw the troops. "Troops under the command of somebody whose name I will not hide -- general Prabowo -- were concentrated in several places, including my home," Habibie disclosed recalling the May 22 deployment.
Prabowo, a son-in-law of Soeharto, defended his actions on Friday, saying the mobilization of extra troops was to protect Habibie in line with instructions received from the ABRI top brass.
"I am saddened by the perception that I am accused of threatening the safety of President B.J. Habibie, someone who I have admired for many years," Prabowo said in a statement released by friends on Friday. Prabowo is currently in Jordan.
Wiranto on Friday played down Habibie's statement, emphasizing that many ABRI units had been stationed in the capital before the May 14 riots to maintain security and order.
The government has yet to issue an official account on the transfer of power from Soeharto to Habibie.
Sources at the palace with Habibie on May 21, said the President stayed at the State Guesthouse until 10 p.m. His wife, Hasri Ainun Habibie together with their two sons' immediate families joined him soon after the swearing-in ceremony.
The sources said Prabowo insisted on a meeting with Habibie. At 3 p.m. the two met with Prabowo, allegedly warmly embracing the new President. Habibie's then advisor on military affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Sintong Panjaitan reportedly frisked Prabowo before the meeting.
The contents of their conversation remains a mystery. Some speculate that the former Kostrad chief demanded a higher position. He was removed from the post the following day.
Prabowo was reassigned to a less significant position in Bandung on May 22 and discharged in August after admitting involvement in the abduction of political activists. He is currently conducting business in Amman, Jordan, for a company owned by his younger brother Hashim Djoyohadikusumo.
Dewi said that Prabowo "does not have to go abroad".
"Someone who is still facing unresolved problems just goes abroad. How nice!"
Dewi said that perhaps Habibie's remarks may have been a tactic to help Wiranto's image. Wiranto -- currently facing problems such as demands that the position of Armed Forces commander and minister of defense and security be separated -- had "acted very professionally" at a critical time, said Dewi.
"If at that time Wiranto had taken the wrong decision and been unable to enforce discipline among the Armed Forces... the history of reform (in Indonesia) would be very different." (gis/prb)