Feisal says neither he nor Soeharto ordered PDI attack<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police investigators may find it difficult to
\ndraw conclusions over the criminal aspects of the July 27, 1996
\nattack on Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters as
\nwitnesses have continued to give conflicting testimonies.<\/p>\n
Former Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung
\ntold national police investigators on Friday that neither he nor
\nformer president Soeharto gave orders to attack the PDI
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
"I had never received orders from then president Soeharto to
\ntake over the PDI headquarters," Feisal said in his written
\ntestimony, which was read by his lawyer Col. Agus B. Setiawan.<\/p>\n
"I also never gave orders to military officers to take over
\nthe headquarters, nor was I informed of the takeover by my
\nsubordinates once it happened."<\/p>\n
"But if by any chance police find out that military personnel
\nwere involved in the takeover, I, as the Armed Forces chief at
\nthat time, will apologize," he added.<\/p>\n
Arriving at the National Police headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo
\nin South Jakarta at around 9:30 a.m. and leaving at around 11.30
\na.m. under the watchful eyes of journalists, Feisal remained
\ntightlipped.<\/p>\n
"Just ask my lawyers," he said before getting into a black
\nVolvo and driving off.<\/p>\n
Earlier, former ABRI chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen.
\n(ret) Syarwan Hamid and former Jakarta military commander Lt.
\nGen. (ret) Sutiyoso had testified before the police investigators
\nthat the country's former "political patron" was behind the
\ntakeover.<\/p>\n
They did not name the former political patron, but it is
\nbelieved they were referring to Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. (ret) Soeyono, who was the ABRI chief of general
\naffairs at the time of the incident, testified that Soeharto did
\nnot have anything to do with the takeover.<\/p>\n
In the questioning led by Deputy National Police detectives
\nchief of general crimes Col. Makbul Padmanegara, Feisal was
\naccompanied by lawyers from the Indonesian Military legal affairs
\ndepartment -- Maj. Nur Hajijah, Maj. S. Damanik, Capt. Bambang
\nWidarto, Capt. N. Sirait, Lt. Col. M.D. Purnomo and Col.
\nSetiawan.<\/p>\n
Setiawan said Feisal, however, admitted that he attended a
\nmeeting with Soeharto at his residence on Jl. Cendana in Central
\nJakarta with several top ranking military officers one week
\nbefore the incident.<\/p>\n
"But the meeting did not involve any plan to take over the
\nheadquarters," Setiawan said while quoting Feisal.<\/p>\n
The July 1996 riot broke down after a group of supporters
\nrepresenting PDI's splinter faction leader Soerjadi -- which was
\nallegedly backed by some elements in ABRI -- raided and took over
\nthe party headquarters from the supporters of the ousted PDI
\nleader Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi replaced Megawati, who is now Vice President, in a
\ngovernment-sponsored congress in May 1996.<\/p>\n
The takeover triggered mass unrest throughout Central Jakarta,
\nresulting in the death of at least five people and injuring 149
\nothers.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 23 people are reportedly still missing.<\/p>\n
Megawati has challenged the validity of the headquarters
\ntakeover in court, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
Police then reopened the investigation in February and named
\n13 suspects shortly after that, including Soerjadi who has been
\nunder police arrest since April 11.<\/p>\n
About half an hour after Feisal left the police headquarters,
\ndeputy speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) A.M. Fatwa
\nwas seen coming out of the General Crime department office.<\/p>\n
Fatwa told the reporters that he had just visited Soerjadi and
\ngiven him a book written by Fatwa, titled "The Art of A Regime",
\nthat has yet to be published.<\/p>\n
"Soerjadi and I have something in common. We're the victims of
\nthe New Order administration's political schemes," he said
\nbitterly. (09)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/feisal-says-neither-he-nor-soeharto-ordered-pdi-attack-1447893297",
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