We get the message, Gen. Wiranto says

We get the message, Gen. Wiranto says

JAKARTA (JP): The government has heard student demands for
political reform and now needs time to work on the concepts
before moving forward, Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander
Gen. Wiranto said yesterday.

The government completely understands the essence of student
demands, Wiranto told a media briefing at the Armed Forces (ABRI)
Headquarters.

He said political and economic reforms had already been
incorporated into the national agenda.

The general appealed for patience, saying that reform would
take time. "There are certain channels and rules to follow."

President Soeharto summoned leaders of the House of
Representatives and the three political organizations last week
to discuss growing demands for reform. His aides said the
President agreed to allow debate on reform to flourish with a
view of incorporating the ideas into the 2003 State Policy
Guidelines.

House Speaker Harmoko has also announced that the legislature
would begin reviewing the five political laws, which define the
current political system.

Gen. Wiranto disclosed yesterday that the Armed Forces would
also establish a team to conceptualize its own reform concepts.

Political and economic reforms are a normal part of a
development process for a nation, he said. "Their (students)
message has been well accepted and understood."

Given these positive responses, Gen. Wiranto appealed to
students to stop their protests.

Students should instead devote their time and energy on ways
of helping people survive the current economic crisis, he said.

He questioned why the students continued protesting, "as if
they have other hidden goals".

"Let's be rational. If their demands have already been heard
and accepted, but they still hold their protests, I conclude that
there are some other unclear motives."

Gen. Wiranto also challenged government critics to come up
with proposals to solve the current crisis. "They should share
their ideas, rather than continuously criticize the government.
Try to be positive. I think that's much wiser," he said.

Separately, ABRI chief spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab
Mokodongan said the military rejected calls for an extraordinary
session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

"Why should we hold an extraordinary session if the nation can
settle the crisis and carry out the reforms through other means?"
he asked.

Harmoko has also rejected calls for a special MPR session
saying that President Soeharto should be allowed the chance to
carry out his new mandate given him by the Assembly only in
March.

The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) yesterday threw its
support behind the student reform movement and called on all
members of society to do likewise.

In a statement co-signed by chairman Sularso Sopater and
secretary-general J.M. Pattiasina, PGI said it also supported the
steps being taken by the House of Representatives to initiate
reforms through legislative actions.

PGI called on officials to maintain security and order without
using excessive force. "The security apparatus should not treat
student protesters as enemies," it said.

The senate of professors and lecturers of privately run
Trisakti University yesterday also issued a petition giving their
support to the student movement for immediate reform.

"To save the people, nation and country, the senate and
leadership of Trisakti University fully support the aspirations
and demands of Indonesian students in general, and Trisakti
students in particular, who are calling for reform in all aspects
of life right now," said the petition, signed by 58 staff
lecturers of the university.

The senate of professors and lecturers of the Bandung
Institute of Technology (ITB) on Wednesday also issued a strongly
worded statement criticizing the government's poor response to
the calls of the people.

The ITB senate endorsed the student movement and called on the
rest of the nation to join in the national drive for reform in
all fields.

The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID),
grouping 120 Indonesian and foreign non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), also called for immediate reform.

"The Indonesian government should allow full freedom of
expression, including peaceful demonstrations of students," the
group said after a three-day conference in Jakarta.

The participants called on the military to respect human
rights, refrain from the disproportionate use of force in dealing
with students and to open an impartial inquiry into the
disappearances of well-known activists over the last two months.

INFID also called on the government to establish a more
democratic political system, which would limit presidential terms
to only two terms in office, and create a full separation of
powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches
of government. (imn/riz)