DKP points finger at Prabowo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The abduction of political activists were not
\nordered by the Armed Forces' (ABRI) top brass, but were carried
\nout because of then Army Special Force (Kopassus) chief Lt. Gen.
\nPrabowo Subianto's interpretation of his superiors' instructions,
\nthe Officers Honor Council (DKP) concluded yesterday.<\/p>\n
Council chairman Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo told a media
\nconference that Prabowo's instructions were only to \"monitor\" the
\nactivists' moves, especially in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It was Prabowo's own interpretation which led to the decision
\nto kidnap the activists,\" Subagyo said after chairing a hearing
\nof the seven-member council with Prabowo at the Army headquarters
\non Jl. Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Prabowo had reportedly acted on his own initiative and had
\nbeen given autonomy by his superiors to maintain stability with
\nwhatever means he deemed necessary.<\/p>\n
Subagyo, also the Army chief of staff, however, said the
\ncouncil would still need to cross-check Prabowo's testimony with
\nthose of other officers and witnesses.<\/p>\n
Subagyo denied speculation that there had been two different
\norders -- each given by then Armed Forces commander Gen. (ret.)
\nFeisal Tanjung and Army chief of staff Gen. Wiranto -- regarding
\nthe military campaign to control the activists, a situation which
\nled to confusion on Prabowo's part.<\/p>\n
\"That's not true,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the questioning would continue today, but did not
\nindicate who would appear before the council.<\/p>\n
Riding in a dark green Land Rover, Prabowo arrived at 8:20
\na.m. at the Army headquarters in full uniform for his
\nquestioning. The hearing, which was held in closed chambers,
\nstarted at 9 a.m. and ended at about 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
A horde of reporters, both foreign and domestic, were
\nprevented from entering the compound and had to wait across the
\nstreet.<\/p>\n
Also testifying as witnesses yesterday were Col. Chairawan,
\nthe former chief of Kopassus' Group of Intelligence Operations,
\nand members of the Armed Forces fact-finding team, including its
\nchief, National Military Police Chief Maj. Gen. Syamsu Djalal.<\/p>\n
Other team members testifying were assistant for intelligence
\naffairs for the Armed Forces chief of general affairs Rear Adm.
\nBerty Ekel; chief military prosecutor Maj. Gen. Timur P.
\nManurung; and assistant for security affairs to the Armed Forces
\nchief of general affairs Maj. Gen. Marwan Paris.<\/p>\n
Prabowo, together with his successor Maj. Gen. Muchdi
\nPurwopranjono and Col. Chairawan, is now under intensive
\ninvestigation by the ABRI-initiated council for his alleged role
\nin the kidnappings and torture of political activists.<\/p>\n
Many of the activists critical of former president Soeharto
\ndisappeared in the run-up to the general session of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly last March. Analysts said the mission was
\nan all-out campaign to maintain Soeharto's power.<\/p>\n
The Assembly reelected Soeharto for a seventh consecutive term
\nat the time.<\/p>\n
Some of those missing have since reappeared. One by one, they
\nhave come forward to tell of their ordeals. In each case the
\nactivists were made to suffer torture often used by the military
\nto extract confessions.<\/p>\n
Only nine of the missing activists, however, have returned
\nhome. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
\n(Kontras), which is conducting its own investigation into the
\nabductions, believes that 12 others are still missing.<\/p>\n
A separate investigation into 10 other Kopassus personnel,
\nallegedly involved in the actual abductions, is underway.<\/p>\n
Last week, the chief of the military police, Maj. Gen. Syamsu
\nDjalal, who is in charge of the Armed Forces' investigation into
\nthe abductions, said the dossiers on the ten were almost
\ncompleted and would soon be submitted to the Jakarta military
\ntribunal.<\/p>\n
The council started the investigation into the kidnappings
\nlast Tuesday. The first official to appear before the council was
\nChairawan, while Muchdi testified last Thursday.<\/p>\n
The council also inspected several locations, believed to be
\nthe sites where the abductees were held, at the Kopassus
\nheadquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta, last Wednesday. (imn)<\/p>",
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