Put nation before personal interest: Soeharto

Put nation before personal interest: Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto asked the public on Tuesday
to place the interests of the country before personal interests
for the sake of future generations.

Speaking during the inauguration of a war memorial in
Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, Soeharto appealed to Indonesians to
emulate the war heroes who sacrificed their lives for the nation.

"In the old days, our fighters put their motherland's interest
before their own or their family's interests. We should all do
the same now," he said.

Soeharto inaugurated the Mandala Irian Jaya Liberation
Monument, built on the site of the former headquarters of the
Mandala military command. The Mandala operation was launched in
1962 to wrest Irian Jaya, then called West Guinea, from Dutch
control.

The operation, authorized on Dec 19, 1961, by President
Sukarno, was led by Soeharto, then a young major general. After
lengthy preparation, the operation was launched in June the
following year. The Indonesians skirmished with Dutch troops in
Irian Jaya and in the waters around the province.

One estimate put Indonesian casualties at 200.

The seriousness shown by the Indonesian military forced the
Netherlands to agree to a cease-fire and transfer sovereignty of
West Guinea to the United Nations, and later to Indonesia in
1963.

Soeharto recounted last June that he left Jakarta to lead the
command on the day his youngest son was born.

The son was named Tommy Mandala Putra, now a prominent
businessman. He also witnessed Tuesday's ceremony.

The President said Indonesia must still work hard at
developing the country. "Development requires an absolute
dedication and strong fighting ideals," he said.

He said the Mandala memorial should ignite the fighting spirit
of the entire Indonesian nation. "We must keep this spirit
inflamed and reinvigorated, because our development is in that
phase that requires a strong fighting spirit."

Soeharto also launched four other projects in South Sulawesi
-- the Pankajene Grand Mosque, the Wahidin Sudirohusodo General
Hospital, and irrigation networks in Awo and Bila which are
capable of supplying water to 2,500 hectares of rice fields. The
five projects are worth Rp 237.5 billion (US $104 million),
according to Antara.

During his day-trip to Ujung Pandang, Soeharto was accompanied
by First Lady Mrs. Tien Soeharto, Minister of Defense and
Security Gen. (ret.) Edi Sudradjat, Armed Forces Chief Gen.
Feisal Tanjung and a number of other cabinet members.

South Sulawesi Governor Z.B. Palaguna played host to
delegation. (emb)