SBY no-show delays House Iran hearing

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 06/06/2007 9:08 AM

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The President's men came; the legislators turned up their noses and the President kept his cool in a rare standoff with honorable representatives.

Knowing Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in town but failed to show up to personally deliver his account on the government's support for a United Nations resolution on Iran, the House of Representatives decided Tuesday to suspend and reschedule a plenary session with the President.

The decision was made after the House's leadership and factions failed to reach an agreement on whether or not to give a team of ministers, tasked by the President to speak on his behalf, the opportunity to deliver the government's explanation regarding its support for the UN Security Council's move.

""The House leadership decided to suspend the plenary session because the situation was not conducive. The House's consultative committee will meet again to reschedule the plenary session,"" said House Speaker Agung Laksono who presided over the plenary meeting.

Representing the President in the plenary session were Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S., Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa and Chief of the State Intelligence Agency Syamsir Siregar.

The dispute erupted soon after House members from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), National Mandate Party (PAN), National Awakening Party (PKB), United Development Party (PPP), Reform Star Party (PBR) and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) condemned the absence of the President and demanded the suspension of the plenary session until the President was present.

Despite internal rulings allowing ministers to represent the President to deliver government explanations, the House members were of the opinion that the President was lashing out at the House and had no political will to build political communication with the legislative body.

""The President should attend the plenary session because the House is questioning strategic and ideological issues. It is not about anti-U.S. sentiment but about an independent state's sovereignty. Some time in the future, the U.S., through the UN Security Council, could take measures similar to those it took on Iran on Indonesia,"" Sutradara Gintings of the PDI-P said.

The PKS faction said the President should have come to clarify allegations the U.S. pressed Indonesia to support the UN resolution, which imposed harsher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.

On the contrary, Golkar Party, Democratic Party (PD) and Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) factions accepted the ministers' attendance to the plenary session as it was allowed by internal House rulings and that similar practices had taken place in the past.

Widodo said the government could understand the House's position and would report on the suspended plenary session to the President.

Later in the afternoon, President Yudhoyono said the legislature had an obligation to receive the ministers' explanation.

""The government's stance is clear. The House uses its right to interpolate and the government is required to answer. Based on my prerogative and the House's standing orders, when I sent ministers to give an explanation, the House was obliged to accept it,"" Yudhoyono said at a media conference.

Yudhoyono called on members of the House to help create a conducive political situation.

""It would be better if we could maintain cool heads while trying to find the right solution,"" he said.

The President, however, gave no indication he would make an appearance at a rescheduled session to give an explanation about his government's decision to support the UN resolution.

Hassan explained the government's reasons for supporting the UN resolution before the foreign affairs and defense commission in April but most factions found the explanation unsatisfactory. (14)

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