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)