Solahuddin defends Wiranto's credentials

Solahuddin defends Wiranto's credentials

M. Taufiqurrahman and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta

"If you can't beat them, join them" seems to be Solahuddin
Wahid's motto.

Only two years ago, Solahuddin tried hard and failed to
question several military officers, including Gen. Wiranto, over
gross human rights violations in the Trisakti and Semanggi I and
II shooting incidents.

On Tuesday, however, the prominent rights campaigner publicly
declared his alliance with Wiranto, claiming that they had the
same vision, mission and commitment even in law enforcement.

"We have the same commitment to bringing about a just and
prosperous Indonesia," Solahuddin said when announcing his vice
presidential bid under Golkar, which has chosen Wiranto as its
flag bearer in the July 5 presidential election.

To justify his decision, Solahuddin called on the public to
come to terms with the past and not to dwell on its bitter
legacy.

"We need to be wiser in looking into the past. The time is
right to turn vengeance into forgiveness and by revealing the
truth... we hope that human rights abuse will not recur in the
future," he said to the thunderous applause from hundreds of
guests in attendance.

Solahuddin, who is also known as Gus Solah, said that in the
next few days he would hold talks with a number of non-
governmental organizations and victims of human rights abuse to
explain his decision to team up with Wiranto.

"After completing the presidential registration with the
General Elections Commission, I will pay them a visit. This is
part of my accountability to the public," said Gus Solah, a
deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM).

He declined to name which victims of rights abuses he would
meet, but he said that it would include families of those who had
perished in the May 1998 riots and those of students who died in
the Semanggi and Trisakti shooting incidents. All occurred when
Wiranto led the Indonesian Military (TNI) and was minister of
defense.

Salahuddin also said on Tuesday that he had officially
relinquished his position in Komnas HAM.

Solahuddin led in 2002 a Komnas HAM team investigating the May
1998 riots. His team tried very hard to subpoena several key
military officers, including Wiranto, but was unable to do so as
they ignored the summons.

Apart from the riots, Wiranto was also held responsible for
the bloody mayhem that engulfed East Timor following a referendum
in which most voted to separate from Indonesia after 22 years of
oppression.

A United Nations-sponsored East Timor tribunal issued an
arrest warrant on Monday for Wiranto for his alleged crimes
against humanity that took place before and after the territory's
breakaway from Indonesia.

Wiranto said on Tuesday that the arrest warrant was the latest
effort in a smear campaign, involving certain parties in the
country, to thwart his presidential bid.

"This is nothing new. I have been accused of committing almost
the worst of all crimes, from human rights violations, money
counterfeiting to involvement in a bank scandal," he told
reporters.

Wiranto's bid for the presidency took a blow on Tuesday with
the resignation of renowned political analyst Andi Alfian
Mallarangeng from the United Democratic Nationhood Party (PPDK)
central board.

He was disappointed by the party's decision to support
Wiranto's candidacy. "Wiranto is part of the country's troubled
past and I don't want to have a future leader who will be
preoccupied with efforts to clear his name," Andi said.

Andi, however, appreciated the decision as it was made in a
legitimate decision-making process.

Party leader Ryaas Rasyid defended his party's stance on
Wiranto, saying that the Golkar Party candidate had the strongest
chance of winning the presidential election.

"Based on our forecast, we believe that only Megawati and
Wiranto will contest the second round of the presidential
election on Sept. 20. But since PPDK is committed to the reform
movement, it is impossible to support Megawati," Ryaas said.