Wiranto pledges to stand firm

Wiranto pledges to stand firm

JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and
Security Gen. Wiranto dismissed on Tuesday calls for his
resignation over the East Timor mayhem, saying he was determined
to defend himself against charges of wrongdoing.

Speaking to the media after a regular meeting with ministers
under his coordination at his office, Wiranto said he wanted to
discuss the matter with President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is
currently on a European tour until Feb. 13.

Abdurrahman sought Wiranto's exit from his Cabinet while in
Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum on Monday.
Shortly after a meeting with the Indonesian community in London
on Tuesday, the President reiterated his plan to dismiss Wiranto.

He said he had called Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono on
Tuesday morning and asked him to inform Wiranto.

Abdurrahman said he would summon Wiranto as soon as he arrived
home.

He said it was in Wiranto's interest to temporarily resign
from the Cabinet, noting that it would ease pressure on Wiranto.

"There will be an ad interim minister, it means he will be
replaced by other person, then if the court, in its verdict,
finds him guilty, he will be removed," the President said.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, who is on a
five-day visit to Japan, welcomed Abdurrahman's decision, saying
it reflected the government's commitment to human rights and
democracy. He said the move was not aimed at disgracing the
Indonesian Military (TNI).

Wiranto, who was the TNI commander when East Timor was in the
throes of conflict, and four other generals were incriminated on
Monday in a report unveiled by the government-sanctioned
Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) in
East Timor.

The report, which summed up a four-month investigation into
atrocities in the former Indonesian province following the Aug.
30 ballot, recommends that a formal investigation be held.

Wiranto deplored the report, saying it disregarded his efforts
to prevent violence.

"What we watched (on television) was a vulgar disclosure by
individuals and their institutions who were allegedly involved in
human rights violations in East Timor," he said.

Wiranto said the commission, in its capacity as an ad hoc
body, was assigned to look for information and data on human
rights violations and not to reveal certain names of alleged
perpetrators.

He said both himself and TNI had made serious efforts to
ensure the ballot was a success. Citing an example, he said TNI
supported the May 5, 1999 tripartite agreement between Indonesia,
UN and Portugal, and the peace agreement between the two warring
groups on April 21, 1999.

"As a soldier, I am going to continue to fight to reveal the
truth," he said.

He said he was also behind the establishment of the Commission
for Peace and Stability (KPS), whose members include several
noted figures from the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas Ham).

"The fact that no UN staff members were killed, for example,
served as evidence that TNI was capable of upholding the people's
feelings of safety. Isn't this a good performance?" he said.

In a separate conference, defense lawyers for the five
generals rejected on Tuesday the report and said they might file
a defamation suit on behalf of their clients.

"The TNI officers' legal team strongly protests the
announcement and the public disclosure of the names of TNI
officers in the report, and the announcement of the findings by
Komnas HAM," the lawyers said in a statement read at a news
conference.

Asked what action they would take, the defense team leader,
prominent lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, said he and the lawyers
were thinking of filing a defamation suit.

"That possibility is still being considered as we still need
more information about the recommendations," Buyung said.

During the conference, the six lawyers said the report did not
"meet the standards of investigation based on the (country's)
criminal code."

"None of the witnesses' testimonies or evidence detailed in
the recommendation supports the accusations leveled against the
officers," they said.

Saying that KPP HAM had overstepped its authority, which had
been only to determine if human rights abuses had taken place
after the ballot in East Timor, the team said it had no right to
release the names publicly.

"The disclosure of the names of officers suspected of human
rights abuses cannot be justified because it violates universal
legal principles applied in all states and based on the rule of
law."

In an abrupt news conference later on Tuesday, KPP HAM said 33
military and other officials implicated for human rights abuses
were not legally suspects.

A member of the commission, Asmara Nababan said KPP HAM was
tasked only to "search and find incidents which could be
classified as gross human rights violations".

"Therefore, several names mentioned in KPP HAM's findings ...
do not fill the qualification as suspects," Asmara said.

The State Minister of Human Rights Affairs, Hasballah M. Saad,
said there were two alternatives -- a tribunal and a district
court -- to try the TNI generals.

He noted that the human rights court, the bill of which is
being deliberated by the House of Representatives, could not be
applied to the East Timor case because it would not cover
violations in the past.

In a related development, chief of the Wirabuana Military
Command Maj. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah said in Makassar on
Tuesday that KPP HAM's report would not "rock TNI's boat".

He said the commission's recommendation would not lead to a
military coup, mainly because TNI was now committed to law
enforcement and the promotion of human rights.

"The dismissal of Pak Wiranto won't draw a strong reaction
from TNI. We are sad and concerned with what we've experienced,
but this (experience) poses a mirror for us to improve our
awareness of the importance of nurturing human rights in the
military," Agus said.

In Semarang, Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Dimyati Hartono said KPP HAM
should have the courage to summon former president B.J. Habibie
over the East Timor debacle.

Dimyati said Habibie had to explain his decision which allowed
East Timor to separate from Indonesia. "What happened in East
Timor was the result of Habibie's decision," he said.
(emf/rms/prb/har/sur/27/04)