---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Dengan mengClick banner sponsor anda menyumbang Rp. 1000,- untuk HomePage IndoNews. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethnic violence will calm down before June election with military presence, influential Indonesian Muslim leader assures during a talk in Singapore By PAUL JACOB INFLUENTIAL Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid urged Singapore and the international community yesterday not to be overly pessimistic about developments taking place in Indonesia -- current reports of unrest and uncertainty ahead of the June election notwithstanding. Speaking in Singapore and intent on addressing the concerns many have had about the future of his country, the head of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organisation -- which claims 40 million members and supporters -- said that while the situation appeared critical, "it is not bothersome and the problems can be overcome". Indeed, he told a well-attended talk organised by the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) that the unrest and violence will subside "within a month", once the military reinforces its hold in hard-hit areas such as West Kalimantan, where ethnic violence has already claimed at least 184 lives. He said: "Those things like the violence do not touch the nervous system...they do not touch the basic system of the country. "Before the election campaign, we will take care of it. "Indonesians do not like violence. "Within one month, everything will be safe." A stronger military presence, coupled with follow-up action by religious and community leaders such as himself, will aim at healing wounds, promoting dialogue and lessening the causes for conflict in the future. But he acknowledged that "we were late in taking care of the problem", saying that this applied to the government, the military, social and other organisations such as the Nahdlatul Ulama. His remarks came against the backdrop of a fresh deployment of troops yesterday to Kalimantan and the evacuation of Madurese refugees to the safety of neighbouring provinces. He clearly supported the idea of a stronger military presence in such areas. Such an approach in Ambon -- where ethnic clashes flared prior to West Kalimantan -- had calmed the situation to a point now, he said, that he and other leaders would travel there next month for follow-up action with residents. Mr Abdurrahman is regarded as a key political figure in Indonesia and a potential presidential candidate. The June general election, he said, would be honest, open and fair -- and he cited a number of reasons why he believed this would be so. For one thing, all political parties that were now operating under a more open political system recognised that "the punishment will be just too high" if voters perceive that the polls were being manipulated "so they cannot do such things blatantly". Monitoring of the process by Indonesian and international observers will be tight, he said. "People will be guarding ballot boxes from the voting booths to the counting centres". Speaking as the election commission in Jakarta announced that ministers will be barred from campaigning during the election, Mr Abdurrahman also dismissed the notion that the military would use the uncertain times to seize power. He told the audience that armed forces chief General Wiranto had told him he would like the election to be a success, "and that means no state of emergency" -- a reference to the existence of emergency powers which the military could seek from the president to take over the running of the country. Added Mr Abdurrahman: "He can grab power but it will be difficult to maintain because the people will resist. "And if that happens, I will also set up a government in exile." Gen Wiranto has also apparently told Mr Abdurrahman that the military was willing to gradually ease itself out of politics -- over the five-year period of the new government's term. During his wide-ranging, two-hour talk and question and answer session yesterday, and at a later meeting with the Singapore Press Club, he also projected himself as a reluctant candidate for the presidency. And he promised an honest government run by men of integrity, who lived simple lives, who knew their jobs and who were known by the people. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 27 Mar 1999 jam 03:50:05 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
