RI rebukes U.S. for poll remarks

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas rebuked the U.S. State Department yesterday for its remarks about the Indonesian general election, calling them "inappropriate".

"I've read the statement by the U.S. State Department spokesman, and I think it showed ignorance or lack of understanding of our system," Alatas said.

"I honestly regret the statement because it showed lack of appreciation about what we've been trying to develop with our Pancasila democracy.

"I expected foreigners to at least try to understand that there are different kinds of democracy, and any evaluation must be based on an appropriate knowledge of the system," he said.

State Department Spokesman John Dinger described the Indonesian electoral system Friday as so tightly controlled by the government that it "severely limits political competition."

Calling on the Indonesian government to investigate allegations of vote-rigging and cheating, Dinger said in Washington: "More broadly, we also believe Indonesia should move toward a political system in which the will of the people can be heard."

Thursday's general election gave an overwhelming victory to the dominant party Golkar, which polled more than 74 percent of the counted valid vote. The United Development Party (PPP) collected 23 percent, and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) 3 percent, according to figures released by the National Elections Committee yesterday.

With only a few thousand more votes to be counted, the final figures are not expected to change dramatically.

Based on the provisional results, Golkar is expected to win 321 of the 425 seats in the House of Representatives that were up for grabs, PPP 88 and PDI 10. The six seats that remain unallocated are to be the subject of negotiations between the three contestants.

The other 75 seats are reserved for Armed Forces appointees.

Senior and well-respected ulema Ilyas Rukhiat endorsed the election yesterday, saying it was conducted in an "open and democratic manner", and appealed to all contestants to accept the results, Antara reported.

"All political organizations should accept the 1997 election results gracefully and with an open heart," Ilyas, the chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama's Policy-Making Board, said.

"There is no need to trade accusations or slanders. If there is a problem, let's solve it in a familial manner according to the rules of the game," he said in a statement released by Golkar.

In a general election, there should be no losers, he said, adding that if there were to be winners, then they were the Indonesian people and democracy.

All the parties that contested the election should now work hand in hand to implement the national development programs they had promised during the election campaign, he said.

"Fulfill the promises you made for the sake of the welfare of the Indonesian people. Don't let anyone renege on their promises," he said.

Alatas also criticized yesterday the election coverage in the foreign press, describing it as "cynical and apriori."

"Very few of the foreign journalists grasped or understood our system. Because it's a different system from theirs they had already formed a negative attitude.

"Some of their reports were also clearly deceptive ... such as when they described the election campaign as the most violent ever, with 100 or so deaths.

"But they didn't explain what caused the deaths, leaving the impression that the victims were shot at by security personnel," he said, adding that most people had died because of accidents or fires.

The election campaign death toll exceeded 250 people. This included 123 who were trapped in shops gutted by a fire during a riot in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on the last day of the campaign. Most of the others died in traffic accidents while taking part in street rallies. (mds/emb)