More setbacks in Udin murder case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The decision of Yogyakarta authorities last
\nweekend to cancel the long-awaited reconstruction of a
\njournalist's murder has surprised National Police Chief Lt. Gen.
\nDibyo Widodo.<\/p>\n
When journalists asked him to comment on the cancellation, he
\nreplied that he had not received any reports and would ask
\nYogyakarta police the same question.<\/p>\n
\"Was it because it was raining or what? I will establish
\ncontact with the Yogyakarta police chief,\" he said as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
Reconstruction of the widely publicized August assassination
\nof the Yogyakarta-based Bernas daily journalist Fuad Muhammad
\nSyafrudin was scheduled for 10:30 p.m. on Friday. It was canceled
\none the same day in the afternoon without explanation.<\/p>\n
A lawyer for the murder suspect, Dwi Sumaji, said the police
\ntold him and his client in the afternoon that the reconstruction
\nwas called off \"for one reason or other\".<\/p>\n
They said the unexplained postponement supported their
\nsuspicion that the police are not sure if Sumaji will be able to
\nre-enact the crime because he did not do it.<\/p>\n
The lawyers claim that the authorities mean to cover up the
\ncase because it involves powerful figures in the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Lawyers, the Indonesian Journalists Association and the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights, who have conducted their own
\ninvestigations, have concluded that Syafrudin, or Udin, was
\nmurdered because of his reports on corruption with in the Bantul
\nregency administration.<\/p>\n
Among his famous investigative reports were an alleged misuse
\nof funds from Jakarta earmarked for impoverished villages and an
\nallegation that regent Col. Sri Roso Sudarmo offered a bribe to a
\npowerful foundation in Jakarta to help him get re-elected.<\/p>\n
However, authorities in Yogyakarta have maintained, from the
\noutset, that Udin's murder had nothing to do with his reporting.
\nInstead, they have suggested that Dwi Sumaji killed Udin in a
\njealous rage.<\/p>\n
The police chief said he was of the opinion that the
\nreconstruction would have to be held and should take input from
\nthe public into account.<\/p>\n
\"We will accommodate all input but only use the useful
\ninformation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the suspect's lawyer, Djufri Taufik from the
\nYogyakarta Legal Aid Institute, said he was notified of the
\ncancellation at about 1:30 p.m last Friday.<\/p>\n
\"The police told me that the reconstruction was postponed
\nindefinitely,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The authorities planned the reconstruction only several days
\nafter their dossiers of Sumaji were rejected by prosecutors on
\nthe grounds that their evidence was too weak.<\/p>\n
Separately, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Koesparmono Irsan, a former aide
\nto the police chief, suggested that police in Yogyakarta hold a
\npublic hearing with anyone who might have clues about the
\nmystery.<\/p>\n
The people should include witnesses, the suspect's lawyers,
\nUdin's wife and her lawyers, forensic experts and other neutral
\nparties.<\/p>\n
He also questioned the police dumping of Udin's blood sample
\ninto the sea. (pan\/23)<\/p>",
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