DKP zeros in who gave Prabowo instructions<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Officers Honor Council (DKP) has shortened
\nthe list of who instructed then Army Special Force (Kopassus)
\nchief Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto to take preemptive security
\nmeasures to safeguard last March's presidential election, which
\nled to abductions and torture of political activists.<\/p>\n
Council chairman Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo confirmed yesterday
\nthe instruction did not come from either the then Armed Forces
\n(ABRI) supreme commander Soeharto or the ABRI chief. He did not
\nidentify the latter.<\/p>\n
Subagyo, who is also the Army chief of staff, briefed the
\nmedia after a monthly meeting of regional military commanders and
\nsenior Army officers at the Army's headquarters.<\/p>\n
When asked whether it was possible the instruction had been
\nissued by an Army chief of staff, Subagyo asked for the public to
\nwait until after the council completes its investigation, slated
\nfor today.<\/p>\n
The abductions occurred between May 1997 and May of this year.
\nGen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung was ABRI chief from 1993 to 1998. Over
\nthe period when the abductions of more than 20 political
\nactivists took place, the post of Army chief of staff was held
\nsuccessively by Gen. R. Hartono (to June 1997) and Gen. Wiranto.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Wiranto indicated the
\ninstruction could have come from any of three ABRI officers who
\nranked higher than Prabowo.<\/p>\n
Prabowo's superiors over that period were Soeharto, Feisal, R.
\nHartono and Wiranto.<\/p>\n
Subagyo supported Wiranto's earlier statement that the council
\ncould eventually question the military officer who gave the order
\nto Prabowo.<\/p>\n
\"If the evidence shows that the higher ranked officer was
\nwrong or was connected with the kidnapping, he can be
\nquestioned,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Subagyo also revealed yesterday that Prabowo had admitted that
\nhe misunderstood the orders from his superior.<\/p>\n
\"Prabowo has admitted there was a mistake and said he would
\ntake responsibility for his misinterpretation of the superior's
\norder,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Subagyo said he had checked with other witnesses, including an
\nofficer with the rank of a captain who had written down the
\norder, and officials of the ABRI's fact-finding team, who had
\nvisited the presumed sites where the activists had been kept and
\ntortured.<\/p>\n
Subagyo said the council yesterday requestioned Prabowo and
\nMuchdi simultaneously. The session started at 9 a.m. and ended
\njust a few minutes before 12 p.m.<\/p>\n
Subagyo said Monday the abductions of political activists were
\nnot ordered by ABRI's top brass, but were carried out because of
\nPrabowo's misinterpretation of his superior's instructions.<\/p>\n
He also mentioned the instruction was given under what is
\nknown in the military term as \"under operational control\" (BKO),
\nin which a military unit, in this case Kopassus, was seconded
\nunit for particular operations.<\/p>\n
Under this scheme, the first unit was controlled by the
\ncommander of the second unit.<\/p>\n
He also said Prabowo's instructions were only to transfer
\ntroops to another military unit and monitor the moves of
\npolitical activists, especially in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Prabowo was replaced by Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono a few
\ndays after the 11-day General Session of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR), which reelected Soeharto for a
\nseventh consecutive term. He was promoted to lead the Army's
\nStrategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).<\/p>\n
However, he was removed two months later, one day after
\npresident Soeharto announced his retirement on May 21, and
\nassigned a new post as Commander of the Bandung-based Armed
\nForces Staff and Command School.<\/p>\n
Prabowo, together with Muchdi and former chief of Kopassus'
\nGroup IV for Intelligence Operations Col. Chairawan, is now under
\ninvestigation by the council for his alleged role in the
\nkidnappings and torture of political activists.<\/p>\n
Ten other Kopassus soldiers, who rank lower than Chairawan,
\nawait a court-martial for the kidnappings. The trial is expected
\nto start soon. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dkp-zeros-in-who-gave-prabowo-instructions-1447893297",
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