Soeharto blames unrest on New Order opponents

Soeharto blames unrest on New Order opponents

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has blamed recent unrest on
people opposed to his New Order administration, and vowed that
these "small pebbles" shall be overcome.

"Those upheavals were small pebbles (on the road) that we have
to overcome," Soeharto said Monday after inaugurating the Spirit
of '66 Monument.

Soeharto said in an off-the-cuff speech that the New Order
administration had tried to implement the state ideology
Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, but some people did not
believe in the administration.

"All members of all layers of society should launch a total
correction by implementing Pancasila and the constitution
loyally," he told a gathering which included House Speaker Wahono
and Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung, who is a former
student activist.

Soeharto said there were people whose "patterns of thought"
were not in line with the Pancasila and constitution.

"Their minds are still filled with foreign ideas," he said.

The monument was erected in front of the Regent Hotel to
commemorate Indonesian student activists' role in helping to
topple the Old Order administration under the late president
Sukarno, and usher in the New Order administration under
Soeharto.

Correction

Djusril Djusan, one of the then student activists, said the
monument had been built to commemorate the students'
participation in launching "a total correction to the way the
constitution and the Pancasila were wrongly implemented during
the Old Order."

"We have only one aim, namely to remain consistent with the
ideals and struggles of the New Order that we established 31
years ago," Djusril was quoted by Antara as saying.

Soeharto was commenting on the latest spate of unrest that has
rocked the country since last July. The latest riots were in the
Central Java town of Pekalongan last week when thousands of
people attacked the property and premises of ethnic Chinese.

The July 27 riots in Jakarta last year erupted after the
takeover of the disputed headquarters of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) by supporters of the government-backed
party leader, Soerjadi, from loyalists of ousted party leader
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The July incident left at least five dead, 23 people missing
and dozens of buildings burned down.

Riots then broke out in the East Java town of Situbondo on
Oct. 10. Six people died and hundreds of houses and places of
worship were torched. On Dec. 26, a riot in the West Java town of
Tasikmalaya left four people dead.

More upheavals occurred soon after in the hinterland of West
Kalimantan, where native Dayak tribesmen attacked Madurese
migrants from East Java. Hundreds of people are said to have died
in the violence. (aan)