TNI pledges neutrality in presidential race

TNI pledges neutrality in presidential race

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) will place the
national interest of the country above all else in the
presidential election, its chief Gen. Wiranto said on Tuesday.

Wiranto was responding to lecturers of the University of
Indonesia who suggested that TNI abstain in the presidential
election. The event will climax the General Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) scheduled for November.

"The assurance gives us encouragement. General Wiranto will
take into account the people's interests other than those of
certain groups," Iriani Sophiaan Judoyoko, head of the
university's School of Political Science, said after a meeting
with Wiranto at TNI Headquarters on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat,
Central Jakarta.

During the meeting, the scholars expressed concern with the
polarization of political groupings ahead of the November
election, saying it could bring the nation to the brink of
disintegration.

Iriani said although Wiranto did not make a clear-cut response
to the scholars' appeal, he promised TNI would not make a stand
in favor of either supporters of Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri or
incumbent President B.J. Habibie.

Megawati, whose party looks certain to win this year's
elections, and Golkar's choice Habibie, are widely perceived as
the presidential candidates with the most realistic chances.

A cautious Wiranto said TNI's decision to support a
presidential candidate would very much depend on benefits
proposed by the candidate's party to the people.

Many have called the 38 TNI and Police representatives, as
well as 200 regional representatives and interest group
appointees in the 700-member MPR, to abstain from voting during
the election for the sake of fairness.

Minister of Information Lt. Gen. (ret) Muhammad Yunus is the
latest individual to support the idea.

After the meeting, Wiranto said the polarization of political
groupings was not unusual as long as no parties violated moral
and democratic norms.

"The presidential election must run in a democratic and
ethical manner and should not pose a threat to national unity,"
Wiranto told Antara.

Megawati

As support intensifies for Megawati's presidential bid, the
United Development Party (PPP) announced on Monday it would
recognize her victory in the presidential election. The Muslim-
based party, however, reiterated its opposition against a female
presidential candidate, as recommended by its council of ulemas.

"If the MPR elects Megawati, the PPP will accept it... The
PPP is committed to democratic principles," party chairman Hamzah
Haz said at the party secretariat on Jl. Diponegoro in Central
Jakarta.

He said the assurance applied to any candidate that won a
majority vote at the MPR.

Separately, PPP deputy chairman Tosari Widjaja said the party
would support PDI Perjuangan's presidential bid at the MPR and
accept a coalition offer if it named a male candidate for the top
executive job.

In Bandung, Muslim scholar Said Aqil Siradj renewed his call
for an end to the use of religion by groups and parties to
justify their opposition against Megawati's presidential bid.

He warned that such a maneuver would trigger people's anger.

He said Megawati, daughter of the country's founding president
Sukarno, deserved the post, thanks to her party's performance in
the June 7 polls.

"If Megawati's party wins the elections, why don't we give her
a chance to prove her capabilities to run the country," Said, who
is also a member of the Nahdlatul Ulama advisory board and a
legislative candidate representing the National Awakening Party
(PKB), said.

A meeting of some 100 NU ulemas from Java, Sumatra and eastern
Indonesia in Rembang, Central Java, over the weekend concluded
that gender did not matter in the presidential election and
criticized the use of religion for political interests.

But Said said the ulemas did not represent the stance of both
the NU and the PKB.

"NU and PKB have yet to officially announce their stand
concerning poll results or Megawati's presidential bid."

PKB has named its founder and NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid
for the presidency, although Abdurrahman has repeatedly said he
personally supported Megawati's bid.

In Surabaya, more PDI Perjuangan supporters participated on
Tuesday in an expression of allegiance to Megawati. At least
1,000 people have pin pricked their thumbs and stamped their
blood-marked digit on a paper containing a statement of support
for Megawati's presidential bid.

A PDI Perjuangan activist from Malang, 90 kilometers south of
Surabaya, Ismudjono, said the move was spontaneous. "Nobody has
instructed us to do this. What we are doing now is aimed to show
our all-out support for Megawati," he said.

Chief of PDI Perjuangan's East Java chapter Soetjipto said he
was not behind the activity. "Hopefully, political elites who now
lock their horns will read our message," he said.

In Semarang, thousands of Pemuda Pancasila youth organization
members rallied in support of Megawati. The group said PDI
Perjuangan's leader deserved the post because she received huge
popular support in the polls. In the past, Pemuda Pancasila had
affiliations with the ruling Golkar. (43/nur/imn/har/amd)