Time to go for pro-Soeharto legislators

Time to go for pro-Soeharto legislators

About half of our current legislators will be running for
reelection. H.S. Dillon of the National Commission on Human
Rights thinks it would be better for them to step down
altogether.

JAKARTA (JP): Many have asked me whether I was surprised that
the House of Representatives (DPR) had failed to summon President
B.J. Habibie for questioning, let alone impeach him. I have had
to reveal to them that I was not surprised, just plain
disappointed. And sad, that even after President Habibie himself
had confirmed the authenticity of the tapes revealing abuse of
the Presidential office and obstruction of justice by the
President, parliament ruled that there were no grounds to
question him.

But what could one really have expected from legislators who
had voted to keep President Soeharto in office for yet another
term in March 1998? Afterwards he had publicly asked them to go
and find out whether the Indonesian people really still wanted
him. "Maybe they are afraid, maybe they are too polite," Soeharto
had wondered aloud. "No, no, Mr. President, all of the Indonesian
people love you very, very much," the thousand legislators had
replied in chorus. Now, you couldn't expect five hundred of the
same legislators to prod President Habibie into bringing Soeharto
to justice, could you? Could they also possess the cold heart or
scheming mind of Harmoko, who called for Soeharto's resignation
in the middle of the crisis, even after having amassed great fame
and fortune as a Soeharto stalwart? No, they could not be as
calculating as the accomplished dalang (puppeteer).

Thus, while these "respectable Indonesians" still hold office
we cannot expect Soeharto to be brought to trial. Their
reluctance to atone for their past misdeeds and mend their ways
does not augur well for our efforts to rise from the ashes and
build a "New Indonesia". It is evident that they are not drawing
any lessons at all from the crisis. They appear to be in the same
league as many of our ministers, who, oblivious to the plight of
the millions of impoverished people, have in the past few months
been vying with each other to throw the most extravagant wedding
party for their beloved children. Soehartoists to the very core,
royalty with utter disdain for the masses.

"Surely there must be some good people among them," you would
say, "they can't be all that bad." I admit that there could be
some, but I am confident that the true patriots among the
legislators would gladly step aside now and consider this small
personal sacrifice to be yet another contribution to the
republic.

Their sterling qualities would stand out even more if they
were to resign from parliament now, and no doubt they would
emerge as forerunners in the 2004 elections. On the other hand,
many of the younger pro-Soeharto legislators who plan to dig in
are already heaping blame on the previous "system".

They are espousing the argument that it was the system which
encouraged such behavior on their part, and that they -- as
rightfully elected representatives of the people -- are not to
blame. Yet others maintain that they were pressured by their
peers to reelect Soeharto against their conscience. But it is
exactly these types of individuals that we no longer want.

At this time, the country needs those who will act as true
representatives of the people, and dare to follow their
consciences irrespective of the personal consequences, even at
the risk of losing office.

We hear that half of these old legislators will be running for
reelection themselves. Which means that the party officials
fielding them are convinced that there has been no fundamental
change, that it is business-as-usual, just like in Soeharto's
heyday. Back then all they needed to do to assure reelection was
to act as faithful courtiers in Soeharto's kingdom. The elections
were just another party, where billions would be milked from
colluding businessmen and corrupt government officials and
squandered to woo the voters.

In fact, many of these self-serving party officials are
preparing to field their wives as candidates again. Public
opinion be damned! They consider the public naive to expect the
forthcoming elections to usher in a clean, corruption-free
government. These sycophants know they will continue to enjoy the
perks of office, ever ready to obsequiously serve whoever comes
out on top.

Who cares that so many young, bright, and cheerful lives have
been extinguished in the fight for political reform? These
legislators must have cold blood running in their veins -- like
reptiles -- to display such heartless indifference.

No wonder that the country is tearing apart, that brothers are
slaughtering brothers with abandon. With such cold-blooded
individuals representing them in parliament, how dare the masses
be different? They must continue to be the "floating masses", and
faithfully emulate the behavior of their elite. When they decry
the murder of innocents by marauding mobs, these legislators
forget that they, too, have blood on their hands. Tens of
millions saw them laughing and congratulating themselves on TV
for having legalized the Habibie regime on Nov. 13, 1998, while
Wiranto's troops were mowing down innocent students on the
streets. Students who were trying to gain the attention of these
legislators. Students who were fighting for a more democratic,
cleaner Indonesia. To date, these legislators have not done
anything at all to push for an investigation into the murder of
these students, symbols of our nation's future.

The Indonesian people have had enough of such opportunists.
It is time for them to go. All Indonesians who do not want our
student heroes to have died in vain, should galvanize our
countrymen to bring pressure to bear upon these heartless
legislators. We must marshal support from all quarters to force
the political parties not to field these parliamentarians, who
have responsible for gross violations of human rights, in the
forthcoming elections. We should leave no stone unturned in
forcing the likes of Gafur and Harmoko out. Now!

We must not let these callous impostors contaminate our New
Indonesia.