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)