Army chief vows to look into reports on regent scandal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief Gen. Hartono promised yesterday to
\nlook into reports that Bantul regent Col. Sri Roso Sudarmo had
\npromised a soothsayer Rp 1 billion (US$425,000) if he got re-
\nelected.<\/p>\n
Hartono said he expected a detailed report about the scandal
\nfrom Maj. Gen. Soebagyo HS, chief of the Diponegoro military
\ncommand that oversees security in Yogyakarta and Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"I have yet to follow the latest developments in the issue,\"
\nthe general said after attending an inauguration of 932
\nlieutenants at State Palace.<\/p>\n
The Bantul regent has been implicated in the August murder of
\nYogyakarta-based Bernas daily journalist Fuad Muhammad
\nSyafruddin, whose investigative reports on alleged administrative
\ncorruption angered officials.<\/p>\n
Udin, as he was called, was attacked and beaten by one of a
\ngroup of strangers who went to his house in Bantul, just south of
\nYogyakarta, on Aug. 13. He died in hospital on Aug. 16.<\/p>\n
One of the journalist's scathing reports alleged the regent
\nhad offered Rp 1 billion to the powerful Jakarta-based Dharmais
\nFoundation for his re-election earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Breaking the government's long silence on the issue was home
\naffairs inspector general, Sudradjat Nataatmadja. He said last
\nweek the money had been \"promised\" to a soothsayer.<\/p>\n
While acknowledging it was wrong for a bureaucrat to make such
\na deal, Sudradjat insisted the regent did not deserve punishment
\nbecause it was only a \"promise\".<\/p>\n
Hartono said he was not pleased with the way the mass media
\nhad reported events surrounding the reporter's murder, which the
\njournalists association and the human rights commission believe
\nwas related his work.<\/p>\n
\"He (Sudarmo) is still regent. You cannot unfairly treat him
\nlike that, exposing everything that is still hypothetical,\"
\nHartono said. \"I really don't like it.\"<\/p>\n
He said if the Armed Forces later found the reports about the
\nregent were false, the Army would stand by Sudarmo.<\/p>\n
Investigations into the murder were marred by controversy with
\ncritics claiming the authorities were running a cover up because
\nkey government officials may have been involved.<\/p>\n
In a surprise move, police released Dwi Sumaji, the man they
\nhad detained for almost 60 days on suspicion of murdering the
\nreporter. But he remains a suspect.<\/p>\n
The journalists association, which has conducted its own
\ninvestigation into the murder and does not believe Dwi was the
\nkiller, welcomed the release.<\/p>\n
\"But we do hope the police will continue their investigations
\nuntil the truth is revealed,\" said the association's secretary
\ngeneral, Parni Hadi, in Bandung.<\/p>\n
Separately, secretary-general of the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights, Baharuddin Lopa, reacted coolly to the news of
\nDwi's release.<\/p>\n
Lopa said he hoped the police would find more material
\nevidence to reveal the mystery surrounding Udin's death.<\/p>\n
\"We sincerely hope the police question anyone who can give a
\nclue to solve the riddle,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The commission has also conducted its own investigation.<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta police chief Col. Mulyono Sulaiman said yesterday
\nhe did not know why the state prosecutors had rejected their
\ndossiers on Dwi for the second time.<\/p>\n
\"The prosecutors have not explained why the dossiers are
\nconsidered incomplete,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He ruled out another round of reconstructing Udin's murder on
\nthe grounds that the one last week, which flopped because Dwi
\nrefused to enact the murder, was the best the police could do.<\/p>\n
The police chief declined to comment when asked if he meant to
\nre-detain Dwi. (23\/imn\/pan)<\/p>",
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