Students group refuses Soeharto's renomination

Students group refuses Soeharto's renomination

JAKARTA (JP): A small group of law students dared yesterday to
dissent from the increasingly uniform voice of the community by
rejecting the renomination of President Soeharto for the
1998/2003 presidency.

A delegation of 15 members of the Association of the
Indonesian Law Students' Councils filed yesterday a petition to
Golkar's faction at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) that
the dominant group name candidates other than 76-year-old
Soeharto.

"President Soeharto is too old to serve another term," said
the association's statement, read out by secretary-general Asep
Wahyuwijaya.

"Challenges of the future need fresh answers from state
leaders, who are also new," the statement also read.

In Yogyakarta, chairman of the Muhammadiyah Moslem
organization Amien Rais again called for presidential succession
next year.

"Presidential succession must occur next year. Otherwise,
we'll find it almost impossible to have both political and
economic reform in the country," he said, while addressing a
seminar on state leadership succession at Yogyakarta's Gadjah
Mada University yesterday.

Amien was confident that President Soeharto was sincere in his
call last month that Golkar reconsider its support for his
renomination.

Amien said he believed President Soeharto would really be
willing to step down if he is not renominated next year.

The law students suggested five candidates for the 1998/2003
presidency.

They were Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wiranto, Secretary for
Development Operations Lt. Gen. A.M. Hendropriyono, State
Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, State Minister
of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita and
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad.

Minister of Defense Edi Sudradjat said yesterday nominating
candidates other than Soeharto was not a threat to national
stability as long as it was conducted through the Assembly.

"Having more than one presidential candidate is acceptable in
this democratic age, provided the nomination complies with the
mechanism... It does not have anything to do with the
(political) crisis," Edi said after a hearing with the House of
Representatives' Commission I for security and defense.

He was commenting on the groups of people who have shown
reluctance in renominating incumbent President Soeharto for the
presidential election in March.

Edi said the Armed Forces would crush any attempt to campaign
for presidential candidates through unconstitutional means.

Vice presidency

Suhardiman, chairman of the military-sponsored labor
organization affiliated with Golkar, SOKSI, said the organization
had five names for the country's second top position.

"They are incumbent Try Sutrisno, Minister of Information R.
Hartono, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, House Speaker Harmoko and B.J.
Habibie," he said at the Horison Hotel in Ancol, North Jakarta,
yesterday.

He dismissed speculation that the organization was naming
names because it planned to gain political favor from whoever was
elected vice president.

"We came up with those names after we had screened a number of
candidates (we believe were) eligible for the vice presidency,"
he said.

Criteria

Rector of Semarang's Diponegoro University and a member of the
Assembly's regional representatives faction, Muladi, suggested a
set of criteria for the vice presidency.

"The next vice president must have access to science and
technology, to sociopolitical elements in the country and also to
the Armed Forces," he said yesterday.

He said Try Sutrisno, Hartono, Wiranto, Ginandjar, Habibie and
Edi Sudradjat met the criteria.

A political observer at the university, Soehardjo S.S., called
on the Assembly to accommodate as many vice presidential
candidates as possible in next year's election.

"Vice presidential nomination should not be dominated by Try
Sutrisno, Habibie and Hartono only.

"Other names including Wiranto, former minister of home
affairs Rudini, Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo,
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and even
chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization
Abdurrahman Wahid and Amien Rais, could also be nominated," he
said. (imn/amd/har/23)