Provocateur Or Scapegoat?(Prabowo Subianto - former special forces commander in Indonesia)(Brief Article)(Excerpt)(Interview)

The mere mention of retired Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto's name always seems to spark controversy in Indonesia. That was the case on Jan. 6 when, during an interview with NEWSWEEK, President Abdurrahman Wahid said that Prabowo's name was in a police report on the Bloody Christmas bombings of last December, which killed 18 people. The news caused a media frenzy; several newspapers wrongly reported that Prabowo--the former Special Forces commander and son-in-law of ex-dictator Suharto-- had been named a suspect. Once considered a future national leader by U.S. officials, Prabowo was cast out by the Suhartos for allegedly masterminding the 1998 riots that ended his father-in-law's 32-year regime. He is now in the oil and gas business. He spoke recently to NEWSWEEK's Joe Cochrane in Jakarta. Excerpts:

COCHRANE: After President Wahid mentioned your name, you canceled a trip to India and held a press conference. Why?

PRABOWO: I knew there was a campaign of rumors. [One hour after the blasts] someone phoned me and said, "Do you know you were accused?" The Americans and British sometimes take 10 or 15 years to solve bombings. Here it takes one hour. I refuse to accept this accusation. I think this is a character assassination to destroy my reputation. It's part of politics.

Wahid has accused Suharto loyalists, including military and political figures, of planting bombs to topple the government. You're a former military leader. What's your reaction to that charge?

I don't want to speculate. It could be anybody. Let's not fall into the trap that happened before. In the past, anything that happened was blamed on the communists. Now anything that happens is blamed on Suharto loyalists.

What kind of people would resort to violence to stop Indonesia from moving toward democracy?

There are some groups that do not like democratic culture. If your ideas are only about self-enrichment and increasing your power, then you don't want open competition.