President set to explain 'Black Friday'

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie spent his weekend meeting with community leaders to convince them that his administration was taking measures to restore order to Indonesia's social and political life.

During a Sunday morning meeting with members of the National Commission on Human Rights at his Kuningan residence in South Jakarta, Habibie promised to issue an account of the unrest that marred the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly last week. He said he would address the nation after receiving reports from the security authorities and members of the public.

"The government has yet to decide whether to set up a team to investigate the incident," Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung said after the meeting with Baharuddin Lopa, Miriam Budiardjo, Marzuki Darusman, Albert Hasibuan, Dos Reis Amaral, Kusparmono Irsan and Syamsuddin.

Marzuki said the commission members had urged Habibie to explain the clashes between security personnel and demonstrators in which at least 15 people died.

Marzuki criticized the confusing and contradictory statements so far issued by the authorities. Before the MPR session commenced, he said, officials had vowed they were ready to go to great lengths to avoid clashes, but this had proved to be untrue and the government was unable to handle the demonstrations effectively.

"The commission will not make any judgment because that would be unfair, given that we do not have all the facts," Baharuddin Lopa, the commission's secretary-general, added.

During a meeting with Amien Rais on Saturday, Habibie conceded that provided the nation was ready, the MPR could convene in a General Session and establish a new government two weeks after the general election scheduled for next May.

Amien, who is chairman of the National Mandate Party and a leader of the reform movement, said in Surakarta, Central Java, that Habibie had yielded and agreed there was no need for the nation to wait six months for a new administration to be put in place.

Amien, Megawati Soekarnoputri, Abdurrahman Wahid and Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X declared last week that a new government must be in place within three months of the general election.

Habibie had scheduled the presidential election for December 1999, six months after the proposed date for the general election.

The declaration, which has become known as the Ciganjur Declaration because it was drafted and issued at Abdurrahman's residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, also delineated a plan that would remove the military from the country's legislatures within six years.

"Pak Habibie told me three months would be too short, (make it) six months," Amien was quoted by Antara as saying. "I met with Pak Habibie last night (Saturday) we (agreed not to) bang our heads together.

"We (the Ciganjur group and the public) will not be obstinate (in our demand) for three months, but Pak Habibie must not be obstinate (and insist on) six months," Amien said.

"If the election is over and the new MPR is ready to convene within three months, why not? Finally, Pak Habibie said 'all right then, if things are ready within two weeks, go ahead, the MPR can establish a new government'," he said.

Amien then called on the nation to join in efforts to maintain security until a new government has been established. "There shouldn't be any more political earthquakes like (last week in Jakarta," he said.

"Everyone must show restraint and the Armed Forces should side with the people, rather than serving the elite," he said.

He also said that if Habibie's administration proved unable to carry out the Assembly's mandate, his party would withdraw their support for him.

However Amien said that he would not convene an alternative "assembly session", saying that would be irresponsible.

"(For some people) it would probably be satisfying if they could say they had toppled Habibie or disrupted Jakarta ... but that would cause great damage to Indonesia," he said.

Separately, two organizations have demanded that the government begin an investigation of the unrest in Jakarta last week and take action against those found to be responsible for it.

The United Development Party (PPP) said in a statement that it supported the legitimate government and called on the security authorities exercise prudence when facing situations that pose a potential threat to national unity.

The party also warned "political brokers" against dividing the people for the sake of furthering their own political ambitions.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Moslem Forum said in a statement here on Monday that it rejected anarchy and subversion and would support the government's campaign to implement the decrees issued by the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

"We reject all forms of violence and anarchy which, consciously or otherwise, have become the modus operandi of radical groups seeking to topple the legitimate government," the forum was quoted as saying by Antara.

The forum groups a number of Islamic organizations including the Council for Islamic Propagation, Muhammadiyah Youth and the Moslem Youth Movement.

In a statement, another group of figures denounced certain parties' use and manipulation of "religious symbols" to stir up trouble and spark unrest.

Among signatories to the statement were politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas, rights activist Munir and student activist Andi Arief. (swe/prb/aan)