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)