Jakarta – Chairman of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) Budiman Sudjatmiko says President Abdurrahman Wahid and his National Awakening Party (PKB) will only be regarded as true defenders of democracy if they are willing to thoroughly resolve all major corruption cases that took place during the New Order regime of ex-president Soeharto.
Budiman yesterday said the main problem is that Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, is yet to show his commitment to launching serious legal investigations into figures allegedly involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).
"Gus Dur is yet to show his willpower in the case of former president Soeharto. Calls for reform should aim to reveal the truth of [recent] history, which was obscured by the New Order," he said in a meeting with Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Matori Abdul Djalil at parliament.
He said the disclosure of the truth behind the events during Soeharto's rise to power will give a sense of justice to millions of families who were the victims of the New Order's crimes.
Budiman said the truth behind the anti-communist purges of 1965- 66 must be revealed. An estimated 500,000 or more people were slaughtered during the violence that led to Soeharto's ascent to the presidency.
The PRD leader, who was jailed by the Soeharto regime in late 1996 and released only this year, said Gus Dur has no political will to process the human rights abuse cases that took place under the New Order.
He cited the attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996; the kidnapping and torture of anti-Soeharto activists; the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre of an estimated 400 protesters; the 1989 massacre of Muslim protesters in Lampung; the 1993 rape and murder of labor rights activist Marsinah; the forcing of peasants off their land for "development" projects; and many other cases.
In a statement issued by the PRD, the leftist party expressed its distrust of the top five political parties, all of which claim to be pro-reform, but in reality are doing little to put the villains of the Soeharto regime behind bars. The PRD also called on the public not to be fooled by phony reformists.
Budiman, who was accompanied by PRD Secretary General Petrus H. Hariyanto, said the PKB should help Gus Dur to develop greater democracy in Indonesia. "The PKB must prove its commitment to upholding democracy, human rights, and eradicating corruption," he said.