President likely to pardon Wiranto if found guilty

President likely to pardon Wiranto if found guilty

BRUSSELS (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid indicated that if
former Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto is found guilty of human
rights violations in East Timor, he would legally pardon him and
most likely dismiss him from his official cabinet post.

"If found guilty in a court, the punishment will be the
opportunity for him to resign from his post," Abdurrahman said
during a meeting with the Indonesian community.

The president conceded that many, particularly those outside
Indonesia, would not be satisfied, as they wanted Wiranto
punished.

"Talking about it (punishment) is easy, but in reality it's
not," he said, adding that such an administrative punishment was
already a heavy penalty in Indonesia.

Meanwhile in an interview in Portugal's Diario de Noticias,
Abdurrahman was quoted on Monday as saying that "however guilty
he is, however wrong he has been, (Wiranto) was the supreme
commander and we will respect him."

"He will be given an amnesty, pardoned, after being judged
guilty," he told the newspaper during a recent visit to Rome.

But he stressed that there would be no such amnesty for other
military chiefs, soldiers and militiamen involved in the campaign
of bloodshed and destruction that followed the Aug. 30 ballot in
the former Portuguese colony.

A report issued by a government-sanctioned inquiry on East
Timor accused Wiranto and other military officers and former
officials of being responsible for the wave of violence which
swept East Timor. The report recommended the Attorney General
conduct an investigation against them.

Following the release of the report, Abdurrahman, who is on a
16-day overseas tour, said he would ask Wiranto to resign.

Abdurrahman has maintained that any cabinet minister on trial
should be suspended from their position.

Wiranto himself has kept quiet saying only that he would wait
for Abdurrahman's return on Sunday.

Abdurrahman, during his meeting with the Indonesia community
in Brussels, again stressed that his personal relationship with
Wiranto is excellent.

He argued that his desire to see Wiranto, by his own free
will, exit the cabinet, was merely to allow him to completely
focus on his defense.

Investors

Separately Indonesian businessmen accompanying the president
on his visit underlined the importance for the President to
remain consistent in his decision to suspend Wiranto as it would
affect the investment climate in Indonesia.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Aburizal
Bakrie said here on Monday that such a decision would impress the
market and investors as it would demonstrate the government's
strength.

"Whatever the President's decision is, the most important
thing is that there is consistency in his policy making process,"
Aburizal said before accompanying the President to his meeting
with Belgian businessmen at the Conrad Hotel.

Sofyan Wanandi, chairman of National Business Development
Council, expressed hope that Abdurrahman would be able to resolve
this sensitive issue in a way which would satisfy all sides.

Sofyan supported Abdurrahman's rejection of bringing accused
senior military officers before an international tribunal,
contending that such an event would only serve to tarnish the
country's image.

"We hope the President's decision will be accepted by all
parties," he said.

Aburizal pointed out that during the tour which includes six
European countries, the business community in Europe has been
impressed with Abdurrahman's performance and strong commitment to
the principles of a free market, democracy and human rights
protections.

Aburizal, however, said businessmen in Switzerland, Britain,
the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium were awaiting
the government's concrete actions.

He cited security restoration and public order, along with
consistency in implementing programs and policies as the most
crucial conditions for the return of investors.

"They will wait to see whether or not the government is able
to implement its own promises in the next few weeks. This is a
test case," said Aburizal.

Indonesian Textile Association Secretary General Benny
Sutrisno hoped the President would be able to convince European
leaders to increase textile quotas for Indonesia by reducing
trade barriers and antidumping regulations.

He said the country's textile exports to Europe have
drastically dropped from about US$2 billion dollars in 1998 to
$1.2 billion in 1999.

"We hope that our exports will exceed $2 billion this year.
Such a development would mean we could employ at least 600,000
workers at home," said Benny.

Earlier Sunday during a meeting with Indonesian businessmen in
Rome, he disclosed that his counterparts in Europe were
particularly interested in Wiranto and the Indonesian Banking
Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

"They only asked about IBRA and nothing else," he remarked.

During his two-day visit in Brussels, the President met with
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, European Commission
President Romano Prodi and European Union Secretary General
Javier Solana.

He flew to India on Monday evening and is expected to spend
the night there before heading off to South Korea and Thailand.
(prb)