Security personnel guilty of treason: Abdurrahman

JAKARTA (JP): Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid stepped into the fray on Friday over the treason allegations that President B.J. Habibie's government has pinned on a group of opposition figures, saying it was actually a group of security personnel who committed subversion during the Semanggi tragedy last week.

Abdurrahman -- chairman of the nation's largest Moslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) -- said the personnel stationed around the Semanggi cloverleaf should have maintained security and peace in the area during the student protest without firing bullets at the students.

"It's clear it was the security personnel who committed treason by preparing (live) bullets for the assassination," he said in a statement about the incident which claimed at least 15 lives.

Abdurrahman, who is better known as Gus Dur, urged the military police to investigate not members of the public but security personnel deployed at the cloverleaf during the incident. He also called for a probe into the roles of middle and high-ranking military officers linked to the shooting.

"Otherwise, the military police would also be among those committing treason."

He said that the students, who were unarmed in the incident, went to Atma Jaya University to express their opinions.

This was why he could not blame the Armed Forces as an institution, including ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto, for the incident.

"Therefore, if Wiranto does not set up a team to investigate all those linked to the shooting, he will be considered a failure in carrying out his tasks. No matter what the consequences would be, the law must be upheld," he said.

He said the military leadership should report the investigation results to Habibie in his capacity as head of state and ABRI supreme commander.

"And if the president fails to take action over the incident, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) should ask him to account for it," he said.

The Moslem leader also said the government should stop its campaign to divert public attention from the bloody incident by slapping treason charges on members of the opposition National Front.

"What the figures have said and done was to express their own opinions, an action which should be considered natural in a democracy." (rms)