TNI may participate in presidential election: Yusril

TNI may participate in presidential election: Yusril

JAKARTA (JP): Politician Yusril Ihza Mahendra suggested on
Sunday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) faction should not name
its own presidential candidates, but said members should vote in
the presidential election.

Yusril, also chairman of the Islamic Crescent Star Party
(PBB), said after addressing a gathering of some 5,000 Muslims at
the Al-Azhar Grand Mosque in South Jakarta that TNI should
refrain from naming its own candidates because the 38 seats
allotted to it at the House of Representatives (DPR) were
unelected.

Hamzah Haz, the chairman of the United Development Party
(PPP), agreed. He was quoted by Antara as saying that during
general elections, the military and the National Police should
indeed be neutral.

"But during presidential elections, they should make their
leaning clear and use their voting rights," he said. "This is why
they should be sensitive to what people want. Don't just consider
what's developing at the DPR, but heed what the common people
have to say."

Military Commander/Minister of Defense and Security Gen.
Wiranto recently said the military would not remain neutral
during the presidential election, given the national interests at
stake, and would be "proactive" in supporting the best candidate.

Votes counted from the June 7 polls so far place the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar,
the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party
(PPP) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) as the five leading
parties. Judging from provisional results, however, it seems
unlikely that any party will win a majority of the vote.

There have been split views over whether the winning party
will win the presidency, or whether the election will be
independent of the vote counting results. So far, the strongest
candidates are Megawati Soekarnoputri of PDI Perjuangan, B.J.
Habibie of Golkar, Abdurrahman Wahid of PKB and Amien Rais of
PAN.

Megawati has strong support in urban centers and the densely
populated Java, while Habibie's strongholds are scattered in
eastern Indonesian provinces. The first, however, has many
strikes against her, including some Muslim clerics' declaration
that Islam bars a woman head of state while other Muslim elements
were enraged because 93 percent of the legislative candidates
that PDI Perjuangan fielded were reported non-Muslim.

Habibie, on the other hand, is tainted by his close ties with
the detested New Order regime and his perceived foot dragging
over investigations into Soeharto's wealth. In addition, Golkar
has been accused by many as being against the reform agenda,
including the amendment of certain chapters in the 1945
Constitution.

This accusation was refuted on Saturday by Golkar chairman
Akbar Tandjung who told a meeting with members of the Student
Opposition Front (BOM) that his party was amenable to changes.

"Provided the amendments only involve (certain parts) of the
1945 Constitution, there will be no hesitation on our part. Let
us discuss the matter. Nor will we hesitate to press for the
trial of Pak Harto if there is adequate evidence," Akbar said as
quoted by Antara.

BOM consists of students from various colleges including the
University of Indonesia (UI), Trisakti University (Usakti),
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Jakarta Teachers Training
Institute (IKIP Jakarta), Diponegoro University (UNDIP), State
Accounting College (STAN) and Bogor Institute of Agriculture
(IPB).

The students conveyed to Akbar a six-point demand in what they
called a reform vision. These included the abolition of the
military's sociopolitical role, the trial of Soeharto and his
cronies, the amendment of the 1945 Constitution, the granting of
autonomy to regions and the settlement of the East Timor and Aceh
problems.(swe)