Stop condemning Soeharto: Belo

Stop condemning Soeharto: Belo

JAKARTA (JP): Bishop of Dili Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo joined
leading opposition figures Amien Rais and Megawati Soekarnoputri
yesterday in calling on the public to stop condemning former
president Soeharto.

"I ask for respect for a man who has done the country a great
service," said Belo, who was critical of Soeharto's policies on
East Timor, as quoted by Antara in the East Timor capital of
Dili.

Belo said it would be unethical for the country to go on
condemning its own former leader, pointing out that Soeharto
would not have stayed in power that long but for the support of
those in his political structure.

"People should not put the blame on only Soeharto's
shoulders," Belo said. He then called for the removal of elements
of the former regime who were now prevailing in the new
government under Soeharto's protege, President B.J. Habibie.

Amien, the chairman of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah
Moslem organization, and Megawati, the ousted leader of the
Indonesian Democratic Party, have both pleaded for compassion and
for the nation to stop hounding the fallen president.

Renegotiation

Rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman urged the government
yesterday, in order to end years of controversy, to allow the
East Timorese to decide on their own the status of the
territory .

"Take a real hard look at what they really want," said the
deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Marzuki said the government should renegotiate the political
relationship between Jakarta and East Timor by including the
option of a referendum, even as a last resort.

"The government should try to sort out the human rights and
all outstanding immediate problems there," Marzuki said, adding
that such a stance might restimulate, on the part of the East
Timorese, an enthusiasm for becoming a part of Indonesia, as they
showed when they joined Indonesia in 1976.

"Let's just give that a try," he said.

Marzuki also said that most members of the commission believed
"all political prisoners", including East Timor separatist leader
Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, should be released eventually.

The government has said Xanana, who is serving 20 years in
prison for anti-Indonesia activities and illegal possession of
firearms, was not on its release list, despite mounting calls
from abroad.

But Marzuki appealed for time, saying the first important step
had been made with the government admitting that some of the
people they held were prisoners of conscience.

Since the fall of Soeharto on May 21, the government has
released four prominent political prisoners and dropped charges
against three women activists.

It has also pledged to release more political prisoners, but
not those involved in an abortive 1965 communist coup attempt,
those convicted of criminal charges or those who tried to replace
the state ideology. (byg)