President issues `written statement'

JAKARTA (JP): A press statement attributed to President "Abdurrachman" Wahid was distributed by the office of Gen. Wiranto, the coordinating minister for political affairs and security, on Wednesday.

No one at the State Secretariat was able to confirm the unsigned statement, while officials traveling with the President on a visit to Beijing also had no explanation.

Maj. Gen. (Pol) I Wayan Karya, a spokesman at Wiranto's office, said the President gave the statement to Gen. Wiranto prior to his departure.

There was no explanation about the misspelling of the President's first name, from Abdurrahman to Abdurrachman.

Since his election to the presidency on Oct. 20, Abdurrahman has only once issued a press statement, preferring to talk directly to reporters.

That one statement -- containing the State Secretariat's masthead -- cleared the name of Yusril Izha Mahendra, the minister for law and legal affairs, from charges of corruption.

The latest statement, which was not printed on the State Secretariat's stationary, called on the nation to end all conflicts and violence and to work toward unity.

It also ordered the nation's law enforcement agencies to "take every measure and action to enforce the law against anyone who violates the Constitution and law."

"It also appeals to people to be on the alert against the possibility of security disturbances and threats aimed at fostering social conflict and behavior that could lead toward the disintegration of the people and the nation."

The President has been widely criticized for embarking on a number of foreign visits and neglecting various crises at home, particularly the rising tension in Aceh, where a growing number of people are calling for a self-determination referendum. (04/emb)