Asia Times: Wiranto's suspension may yet be master stroke



	February 15, 2000	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Wiranto's suspension may yet be master stroke
By Kafil Yamin

JAKARTA - The suspension on Monday, February14, of Indonesia's General Wiranto is unpredecented not only because it happened to a minister from the powerful military, but because it was ordered by a civilian president. These two counts make the decision by President Abdurrahman Wahid especially crucial, despite criticism that he had back-flipped over the issue during the past two weeks.

When viewed in the context of Indonesia's still-bumpy transition to democratic, constitutional rule, it remains a move that boosts the supremacy of civilian rule in a country where the military has always had a major political role.

Wiranto was among six generals an independent local commission recommended should be investigated for possible prosecution for involvement in the post-ballot violence in East Timor in September 1999, carried out by pro-Indonesia militias with the support of the armed forces. He was armed forces chief at the time, and has been a member of Wahid's cabinet as Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs. He was replaced on Monday by Home Minister and former military man Surjadi Sudirja.

Though Wahid has come under fire for his mixed signals on what to do with Wiranto, some Indonesians see his decision a skillful move. Wahid, they say, is a president who has been ''full of surprises'' in the four months he has been in office.

For some, his apparently changing statements on Wiranto - he had asked the general to quit after the report of the Indonesian commission was released weeks ago - may have helped allow for a less explosive solution to the standoff between the civilian and military arms in the country.

''Wahid's commitment to democracy, supremacy of law, clean government and establishment of civil society is undoubted. He did it easily when dropping Hamzah Haz, Minister of Small Business Development. But now, he was facing a ruling general, a figure of an institution who has been so powerful for decades,'' M T Arifin, a military observer, said in explaining Wahid's moves that had been perceived as wavering.

''What Wahid was doing earlier was to break the resisting power apart, consolidating his position, and then he made the decision. His moves have been very intelligent,'' he added.

Other analysts believe that what Wahid is doing is to remove ''status quo'' elements from the military. ''But he did it his own way,'' J Kristiadi, a political analyst from Indonesia's National Institute of Science said. ''For years, high-ranking military officers were accustomed to seeing themselves as superior to other professions and having a sort of impunity.'' He explained that dealing with this crisis required walking a political tightrope.

Briefing the press at the state palace on Monday, Wahid said that the decision on Wiranto was made to enable the fair and proper process of law to take its course, through an investigation by the attorney general's office on the proposals from the East Timor inquiry. ''This has also been made to give Pak Wiranto time to focus on problems he is now encountering, that is, preliminary discoveries of rights violations in East Timor by Indonesia's National Rights Commission."

Wiranto said he was saddened by his suspension but that the move was the president's ''right''. What the armed forces did in East Timor, he maintained, was implement the law. Shortly after welcoming back Wahid from his overseas trip, Wiranto held a meeting with his lawyers.

On February 1 while in Davos, Switzerland, Wahid had said he would, ''by refined language, ask Wiranto to resign''. This statement sparked mixed reactions at home. Wiranto said he would not quit because doing so meant he was guilty, which was not the case. Likewise, he said the findings of the independent commission were biased.

On February 2 in London, Wahid said he had asked Defense Minister Yuwono Sudharsono to ask Wiranto to quit.

On February 7 at the Vatican, the president said he trusted Wiranto, who had saved him when General Feisal Tanjung, a former military chief, ordered Wiranto to ''finish'' him and fellow opposition leader and now Vice-President, Megawati Sukarnoputri. ''If he is guilty by the court, I will forgive him,'' Wahid promised.

Many thought that Wahid was changing his mind and Wiranto would get to keep his ministerial post. This was due to an announcement by Wahid, upon his arrival in Jakarta on Sunday and after meeting Wiranto, that the minister could stay in the cabinet until a team from the attorney general's office finished its investigation in about a month's time.

The seemingly mixed signals, analysts say, are due to the fact that Wahid knows very well there is significant resistance from the military and that this should be dealt with without causing a disastrous impact. At the time of Wahid's departure on a trip to Europe and Asia last month, rumors circulated in the capital about a coup by the military. Subsequently, key generals and military leaders pledged allegiance to constitutional authority.

Earlier, the president also dropped State Secretary Ali Rahman, who is also a military man, and appointed Bondan Gunawan in his place. Rahman had been accused of collusion and nepotism since he assumed the post.

In the wake of Wiranto's suspension, there is another theory - that Wahid took action in order to head off a clamor by some countries and human rights campaigners for the United Nations to create an international tribunal to try offenders involved in the East Timor violence. Wahid has said he does not favor having Indonesians tried by a foreign entity.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who will arrive in Jakarta on Tuesday, has said an international tribunal would be unnecessary if the Indonesian process of law was seen to be adequate in dealing with those named as responsible for the violence.

Foreign Minister Alwi Sihab denied reports that Jakarta was using the Wiranto case to dodge pressure for an international court. ''Yes there have been some inputs from the outside, as there have been from home. But the president has made the decision to let the process of law run its course,'' he said.

Stressed Wahid: ''I am not dealing with international [opinion]. I am dealing with the law.''

(Inter Press Service)

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