Wiranto unveils tough on crime platform

Wiranto unveils tough on crime platform

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Presidential candidates know that their rivals are making similar
promises about law enforcement. But in a country where many think
they have seen enough of the turbulent "transition" period no
candidate can do without pledges of law enforcement even though
they themselves might have been seen to have violated the law.

Golkar Party candidates Gen. (ret) Wiranto and cleric
Solahuddin Wahid say weak law enforcement is the main factor
behind the low public trust in the government, leading to
security problems, recurring violations of the law and the
prolonged economic crisis.

In their statement titled: Vision, mission and main policies
to save the nation, they clearly prioritize law enforcement
efforts and national security along with good governance, public
welfare, education and "reconciliation".

The head of Wiranto's campaign team, Slamet Effendi Yusuf,
said that issues of security, law enforcement and human rights
could not be separated because lack of respect for the law and
human rights would lead to security disturbances.

"If anybody can get away with committing a crime without
punishment then people will lose their trust in the system and
the government," said Slamet.

He dismisses the notion that Wiranto himself may be perceived
as above the law. An East Timor court has issued an arrest
warrant for him for charges of failing to stop gross human rights
violations when Wiranto was military chief and chief security
minister at the time of bloody rampage in the former Indonesian
territory in 1999. He held the same posts at the time of the
riots in a number of cities in May 1998.

As deputy chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) in 2002, Solahuddin led a team investigating the May
riots and summoned, in vain, several military officers to be
questioned, including Wiranto himself.

"We believe that Wiranto has nothing to do with gross human
rights' violations," Slamet said.

The accusation was fabricated by his political foes as no
proof has linked Wiranto with such violations, he added.

Wiranto's camp is also focusing on corruption.

"Security and a predictable legal process are the prerequisite
to fix the current economic problems. How do you expect
businesspeople to invest under such conditions?" Slamet said.

He said that Wiranto had prepared programs for 100 days and
one year to overcome poor law enforcement, if elected.

In the first 100 days, Slamet said, the pair would take stern
action to curb corruption among officials and businesspeople, by
bringing all unresolved high-profile graft cases to court. They
would also revamp the bureaucracy of the police and the
judiciary. "We will raise their salaries so that there is no
reason for them to be involved in bribery," Slamet said.

In the first 100 days Wiranto would revive the civil rights of
minorities, including Chinese-Indonesians, to enable their active
participation in politics, Slamet added.

In one year, he said, the pair would bring gross human rights
violation cases to court. Wiranto and Solahuddin say that "legal
and human rights violations should be settled with wisdom without
creating new problems, and that a truth and reconciliation
commission will be established to handle the problem".

They stressed that reconciliation does not mean "to forgive
and forget" but did not elaborate further.