Team is proposed to find Supersemar text

Team is proposed to find Supersemar text

JAKARTA (JP): A former military commander has proposed that
the government set up a special team to find the Supersemar, or
'March 11 Order', a historical document concerning the transfer
of power from President Soekarno to President Soeharto in 1966.

Amir Machmud, who is one of three army officers who conveyed
the document from Soekarno to Soeharto, made the proposal on
Saturday.

The loss of the document had given rise to speculation about
its contents, he told journalists attending a celebration of the
issuance of the Supersemar.

He said that he was sure the original Supersemar document was
not lost, but said he had no idea who had it.

Amir Machmud, together with two other army officers, Basuki
Rachmat and Muhammad Yusuf, presented the letter, signed by
Soekarno, to Soeharto in 1966. At that time Amir was chief of the
Jakarta military command, while Soeharto was head of the Army
Strategic Reserve (Kostrad) Command.

Amir said that he, Basuki and Jusuf had given the letter to
Soeharto late at night without any discussion and that they had
not seen it again since then.

He said that rumors were now spreading among the people that
the Supersemar had been none other than a coup d'etat in disguise
and that Soekarno had been forced to sign the document by a
"third party"; that is, a party other than himself, Basuki
Rachmad, and Muhammad Yusuf.

"I will not respond to those rumors. People have the right to
speculate. Let history prove which version is right," he said.

Amir, also a one-time minister of home affairs, called on the
Indonesian public to forget the bitter episode in which, in 1965,
the now-outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) attempted a
coup, as well as its aftermath.

Abdul Haris Nasution, who in 1966 was chairman of the
Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS), also regrets
the fact that the document is missing.

"I deplore the loss of the Supersemar document. Everyone must
regret it; nobody says alhamdulillah (thank God) about the
unfortunate loss."

Nasution said he hoped the government would continue to search
for the historical document.

Under Nasution's leadership, the MPRS issued a decree, in
1967, which confirmed the transfer of power as stipulated in the
Supersemar and named Soeharto Acting President of the republic.
Then, in 1968, the MPRS appointed Soeharto President.

Nasution said that rumors that the Supersemar was a coup
d'etat in disguise had been spread by people from foreign
countries. "If the authentic document is found, the doubt will be
dispelled," he said.(29)