Soetandyo to lead team investigating mayor's case
Soetandyo to lead team investigating mayor's case
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto, a member of the National Commission on
Human Rights, has been named to lead an independent team of
inquiry into the controversial dismissal of Surabaya Mayor
Bambang Dwi Hartono by local councillors.
East Java Governor Imam Utomo announced on Friday that
Soetandyo, a professor of sociology at the state Airlangga
University here, was appointed due to his capability, integrity
and impartiality. The rights body member will lead a seven-member
team.
Imam said he would make public the full lineup of the team
after consulting Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, who has
asked the governor to mediate the dispute between the mayor and
the councillors.
"The structure of the team, who gets what position, has been
completed. But I cannot disclose the members to the public until
I receive the minister's technical guidelines on how the team
works," Imam said at his office.
He said he had no authority to endorse the team lineup because
"it deals with a crucial matter which has political
implications".
According to the law, the central government, not a governor,
holds the authority to appoint and dismiss a mayor or regent.
Once the team lineup is announced, it starts working. Imam
expects the team to finish its job in three months, before he
presents the report to the minister.
Imam said he would ask the minister to immediately issue the
guidelines needed by the independent team.
Like the old team probing the removal of Bambang's predecessor
Sunarto Sumoprawiro earlier this year, the new team will comprise
experts in political, legal and regional autonomy affairs.
The City Council's vote of no confidence against Sunarto
prompted the ailing mayor's dismissal.
Bambang, who was Sunarto's deputy, was named the mayor in June
by the councillors who, after one month, lodged a motion to
remove him for failing to appear and present a revised
accountability budget report for the 2001 fiscal year.
Bambang and council speaker Mohammad Basuki met for the first
time since the former's controversial dismissal in a function
hosted by private television station SCTV. The two members of
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle also appeared in a talk
show broadcast live by the TV station later in the day.
Imam hailed the meeting, which he said would pave the way for
executive and legislative reconciliation.
"Reconciliation will reinstate cooperation between the two
institutions so as to create good team work," Imam said.
But reconciliation remains a long way away, according to
Bambang, who said he attended the function on Thursday on behalf
of Imam.