Top four leaders urged to take follow-up steps

Top four leaders urged to take follow-up steps

JAKARTA (JP): A meeting of the country's top four political
leaders in Yogyakarta will only bear fruit if the leaders take
follow-up steps to end their political feuds, sociologist Selo
Soemardjan said on Tuesday.

Selo, a former adviser to the late Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX,
said the leaders should demonstrate their maturity to the nation
by refraining from attacking each other in public.

"The meeting will only be useful if the four figures no longer
fight with each other," he said during a break in a seminar being
held in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X hosted the summit
at the royal palace in Yogyakarta.

The meeting was attended by President Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker Amien Rais, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar
Tandjung and the sultan.

"Frankly speaking, the meeting will not be able to resolve our
huge national problems in the short term," said Selo.

Meanwhile, Arbi Sani, a political scientist at the University
of Indonesia, described the meeting as a preliminary step to
reunite the country's top political power holders.

He also said the meeting would prove fruitful if it was
followed by further reconciliatory gatherings.

"The leaders want to rebuild the country's chaotic leadership
by showing the public and the economic markets they have a united
leadership," Arbi told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday evening.

Arbi urged the national media to help the leaders create a
more positive political atmosphere, saying stability was required
to restore the country's economy.

"The four leaders want to build a joint leadership. I hope the
press will contribute to their efforts," Arbi remarked.

Cornelis Lay, a political observer from Gajah Mada University,
expressed hope the meeting would result in a kind of "gentlemen's
agreement" that would encourage the leaders to remain firm in
their commitment to political reconciliation.

Cornelis said Abdurrahman, Megawati, Amien and Akbar had
strong grassroots followings and that tension among their
supporters would subside if they were able to prove they were
united in their effort to lead the country.

"If they are not bound in a gentlemen's agreement and then
they betray their own agreement, it will be more difficult for
them to meet again," Cornelis said. (27/prb)