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)