Officers involved in alleged subversion<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) have confirmed that
\nthree military personnel have been involved in alleged subversive
\nactivities in the East Java towns of Malang and Kediri.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces Spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab Mokodongan said
\nthree ABRI members were involved in organizing illegal military
\nexercises in a house in the Malang regency.<\/p>\n
\"One of them was a middle-ranking ABRI officer and the two
\nothers were sergeant-majors,\" Wahab told journalists.<\/p>\n
At least 60 people, including the three ABRI members,
\nsuspected of subversive activities were arrested in Malang and
\nKediri Thursday.<\/p>\n
The civilians are being detained by Malang Police, while the
\nthree military personnel are under intensive interrogation at the
\nlocal military police headquarters.<\/p>\n
They were allegedly part of a group of about 100 sympathizers
\nof Imam Mahdi Prawironegoro alias Imam Syafi'i.<\/p>\n
Imam Mahdi, 68, reportedly claims to be the reincarnation of
\nthe first president Sukarno.<\/p>\n
He has reportedly given speeches in many areas appearing in a
\nwhite outfit and a traditional peci cap, clothes often worn by
\nSukarno.<\/p>\n
The military personnel were actively involved in illegal
\nmilitary exercises and closed-door nightly meetings at the
\ngroups' headquarters, on Jl. Simpang Borobudur, Blimbing
\nsubdistrict, Malang.<\/p>\n
East Java police have claimed that a senior figure in the
\ngroup was a Malaysian, identified only as Salim.<\/p>\n
Salim is believed to have acted as a \"broker\" for the group to
\nfind foreign donors willing to finance its activities. He is
\nstill at large.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said Saturday that
\nArmed Forces Headquarters was now investigating the extent of the
\nthree soldiers' involvement.<\/p>\n
\"We'll press charges against them if the allegations are
\ntrue,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The chief of the Brawijaya Regional Military Command, which
\noversees East Java, Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman, said Friday the
\nthree ABRI members were deserters.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the apparent fall from grace of the military
\npersonnel, Armed Forces Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Tarub
\nsaid Saturday that everybody was human and thus liable to make a
\nmistake.<\/p>\n
\"ABRI members are also human beings, who could be influenced
\nby other people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tarub diminished the impact of their involvement as
\ninsignificant since the group was small.<\/p>\n
East Java Police Commander Maj. Gen. M. Dayat said Friday that
\nmost members of the group came from Jakarta and Bekasi.<\/p>\n
Some were arrested in the group's headquarters, while Imam
\nMahdi and his other followers were apprehended at the Merdeka
\nHotel in Kediri.<\/p>\n
Police investigators have so far seized four motorcycles, two
\ncars and one jeep, and a collection of military weapons and
\nequipment, including bayonets, army belts and combat uniforms, as
\nmaterial evidence.<\/p>\n
Djadja Suparman said the authorities had been suspicious of
\nthe group's allegedly subversive activities since July but had to
\nrefrain from making prompt arrests because they lacked
\nevidence.<\/p>\n
Neither the police nor the military have stipulated what laws
\nthe group has been charged with breaking. (imn)<\/p>",
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