Bintang a suspect in German protests<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Controversial member of the House of
\nRepresentatives Sri Bintang Pamungkas has been formally named as
\na suspect in the police investigation into anti-government
\nprotests in Germany last month, Attorney General Singgih said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Singgih told reporters that the fact that Bintang had now been
\nimplicated in a criminal case was sufficient reason for the
\ngovernment to bar him from leaving the country.<\/p>\n
Bintang's change of status from witness to suspect follows two
\nquestioning sessions with police last month. The legislator was
\nin Germany at the same time that demonstrations against Indonesia
\nwere held during a visit by President Soeharto to that country.<\/p>\n
The suggestion that a number of Indonesians took part in the
\ndemonstrations stirred anger among officials and politicians
\nhere, with Soeharto calling such people \"irrational\", while
\nothers called them \"traitors\".<\/p>\n
Bintang was told this week that he could not leave the country
\nbecause of the investigation. He said on Monday that he wanted to
\ngo to the United States to attend the graduation ceremony of his
\ndaughter later this month.<\/p>\n
Bintang has denied taking part in the demonstrations, saying
\nthat he was merely an onlooker at the protest in Hannover. He
\nsaid that he was in Germany for a series of speaking engagements.<\/p>\n
The chief spokesman for the National Police, Brig. Gen. I
\nKetut Ratta, told Antara yesterday that Bintang would be summoned
\nfor further questioning now that he had been named as a suspect.<\/p>\n
The PPP legislator is, so far, the only person to have been
\nquestioned in relation to the protests in Germany. The military
\nhas named senior journalist Goenawan Mohamad and human rights
\nactivist Yenni Rosa Damayanti as being among those who took part,
\n\"directly or indirectly,\" in the protests.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono denied recent
\npress reports that President Soeharto had approved a request by
\nthe PPP faction that Bintang be removed from the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said there were a number of procedural steps that
\nthe President had yet to take, including consulting with a number
\nof people and agencies, before he approved the dismissal.<\/p>\n
PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum was quoted as announcing on
\nSunday that Bintang's dismissal had already been approved by the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said that Bintang's dismissal was not connected with
\nthe investigation concerning the legislator's alleged involvement
\nin the German protests. (emb)<\/p>",
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