Wiranto says he has been invited to Washington

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

One of Golkar's presidential candidates, Gen. (retired) Wiranto, claimed on Thursday that he had been invited to Washington D.C., possibly to meet high level U.S. officials.

Wiranto, who enjoyed unprecedented support from Golkar leaders at the regency and province levels, said he could not honor the invitation any time soon, due to a very busy schedule.

"I have been invited to go to Washington, but I can't go there immediately because of my activities here," Wiranto said in a seminar organized by the Center for Information and Development Studies (CIDES) here.

Wiranto did not divulge whether the invitation came from the Bush administration or a private individual.

Had the invitation come from the Bush administration, it could boost Wiranto's presidential bid. Wiranto is seeking the nomination by Golkar, the country's second largest party, to run in the first ever direct presidential election next year.

It may also signal a change of attitude on the part of the U.S., which had demanded that military officers responsible for gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999 be brought to justice.

Wiranto was the commander of the Indonesian military (TNI), when then pro-Jakarta militias, backed by Indonesian troops, went on a bloody rampage in 1999, killing hundreds of East Timorese civilians and laying waste to almost 85 percent of the infrastructure in the territory. He was mentioned as a possible suspect in separate investigations carried out by the United Nations and Komnas HAM, but has never been charged in Indonesia.

A spokesman from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Stanley Harsha said on Thursday that he was not aware of any invitation for Wiranto to go to Washington.

"I don't know. I really don't know," he said.

According to Lt. Gen. (retired) Suaidy Marasabessy, former TNI chief for general affairs, Wiranto had been invited by a private individual who will facilitate meetings between Wiranto and officials from the Bush administration.

"The invitation came from a figure who works with a non- governmental organization there," Suaidy said.

Asked to comment on press reports that the U.S. disapproved his presidential ambitions, Wiranto said that the country had promised not to intervene in Indonesia's internal politics.

"The U.S. has said it would not interfere with Golkar's convention," he said without elaborating.

Media reports said earlier that U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce had told Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung that Indonesia would be in deep trouble if Wiranto became president of the country.

Wiranto, surprisingly, received strong support from Golkar leaders across the country during the party's convention series to settle on a presidential candidate. At least 25 Golkar provincial branches have thrown their support behind Wiranto.

More support came from the party's chapters in the 353 regencies, wherein Wiranto was backed by 327. He is currently leading the Golkar pack and its looks very likely that he could be handed the nomination, giving him an excellent chance of becoming president next year.

Although Golkar delayed the selection of one definite candidate until after the legislative election on April 5, Wiranto said that he would maintain his bid with the party.

"The process is still underway. Let everyone monitor it," he said.

He said the public must ensure that Golkar's convention series would select a presidential candidate that has the capability to create a strong and effective government.

He said a string of violence throughout the country was the result of the absence of an effective government.

Wiranto reiterated on Thursday that there were no gross violations of human rights in East Timor.

"What happened at that time was mass riots prompted by alleged unfairness of the ballot," Wiranto said.