Soeharto followers 'fomenting unrest'

Soeharto followers 'fomenting unrest'

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on
Thursday that supporters of former president Soeharto are
fomenting unrest to escape justice and destabilize the government
of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"Based on our intelligence reports there are strong
indications that former cronies of Soeharto are supplying arms
and personnel to areas afflicted with conflicts, particularly in
the Malukus, East Timor, West Irian and certainly in Aceh,"
Juwono said at a seminar on economy.

Juwono said the people fear they will be implicated in "the
investigation currently being conducted by the Attorney General's
Office".

His statement, a repeat of his previous allegations of the
role of Soeharto's supporters, came just a couple of days after a
building in the Attorney General's Office compound was damaged by
a bomb blast.

The incident took place on Tuesday shortly after the youngest
son of Soeharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, left the building
after being questioned in connection with his father's alleged
corruption.

Juwono said that the trouble makers were "a group of cronies
who have managed to abandon ship at the last minute". He did not
elaborate.

"There are strong indications that the cronies, not
necessarily from the Cendana family, are certainly involved in
some of the unrest and bombings in North Sumatra, part of East
Java and the Malukus," Juwono said referring to the street where
Soeharto and his family live.

He said that similar patterns had taken place during the
administration of Soeharto's successor B.J. Habibie when "he was
destabilized or efforts to destabilize were fomented by
supporters of former president Soeharto, both in the military as
well as civilians".

"I think this pattern is now being repeated in a different
form, in different places. My hunch is that it is a grudge, but
it's just a hunch," he said.

But, Juwono said that it was "quite difficult" to find the
evidence as these people have been working under the so-called
"cell system".

"They drop money to people with no written instructions and
it's very difficult to find legal evidence fomenting unrest in
the regions and in other parts of the country," he said.

He, however, believes that the police and military
intelligence will "in time" be able to have adequate legal
evidence to bring to trial "at least the public figures and then
hopefully we will get the agitators in Jakarta".

Juwono's remarks also came as political tension between
Abdurrahman and his opponents has arisen following the
President's revelation last week that he had given the police and
prosecutors permission to question several legislators suspected
of inciting riots in outlying provinces.

Juwono was among the first government officials who believed
that the ongoing violence and political troubles in the country
were organized.

In late 1998, shortly after several students were shot dead by
security personnel during an antigovernment protest known as the
Semanggi incident, he said that there were "rogue elements within
the military" who were interested in further discrediting the
government.

Juwono on Thursday also said that "there have been attempts to
overstretch the police and military forces and undermine the
credibility of the President".

As the probe into the terrorist bombs in the Attorney
General's Office continue, National Police Chief Gen. Rusdihardjo
did not dismiss the possibility that the incident had much to do
with investigations into corruption, collusion and nepotism
practices (KKN) being conducted by state prosecutors.

"The explosive device was planted on the floor where all
documents related to KKN cases are kept," he said, without
elaborating.

Another package of explosives was found less than 24 hours
after Tuesday's bomb which damaged a bathroom of a building in
the Attorney General's Office compound known as the "Round
Building".

Rusdihardjo said the explosive found on Wednesday was commonly
used by the military.

"The explosive device was produced by PT Pindad and is used
for military purposes," he said after attending the inauguration
ceremony of the National Body for Drug Coordination (BKNN) in
Cawang, East Jakarta.

However, Rusdihardjo dismissed speculation that Army personnel
were involved in the bombing attempt, despite the fact that
Pindad is an institution under the Army's supervision.

"It was a product of Pindad. But there might have been a
leakage or theft in the factory," he said.

Rusdihardjo said the explosive device could have destroyed the
Attorney General's Office building. (cst/byg/bby/asa)