Permadi ready to face trial for prophecy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Psychic Permadi, in hot water as a result of his
\nprediction that political turbulence might rock Indonesia this
\nyear, says he is ready to account for his prophecy in court.<\/p>\n
\"Could any Indonesian with a bundle of evidence resist a court
\ntrial?\" Permadi asked after being interrogated for five-and-a-
\nhalf hours at the Attorney General's Office yesterday.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Psychics was
\nquestioned in connection with his prediction, which was aired by
\na Yogyakarta private radio station, Radio Unisi, last year.<\/p>\n
Radio Unisi has denied allegations that it has reproduced the
\nstatements in quantity on audio cassettes.<\/p>\n
His political speculation, which Central Javanese government
\nofficials claim were also intended to discredit the then local
\nmilitary chief, Lt. Gen. Soeyono, became a hot issue after audio
\ntapes of the prophecies were illicitly sold in the province.<\/p>\n
In the recorded interview, Permadi predicted, among other
\nthings, that Megawati Sukarnoputri, the eldest daughter of the
\nlate Indonesian president Sukarno and current leader of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party, might become the next president.<\/p>\n
Soeyono, who was recently installed as the Armed Force's new
\nChief of General Affairs, said the cassettes contained messages
\n\"dangerous to social order and security\" because they contained
\n\"propaganda and agitation\".<\/p>\n
\"The controversy could have been resolved if I had been given
\nan opportunity to talk with Maj. Gen. Soeyono in person,\"
\nPermadi said.<\/p>\n
Permadi insisted that his statements and predictions did not
\ncause social unrest and that they were his way of expressing his
\nopinions.<\/p>\n
\"I had no intention of inciting the public nor of acting
\nagainst the state,\" he said in the Central Javanese capital,
\nSemarang, last week.<\/p>\n
He said that he loved the Armed Forces \"very much\" and had
\nbeen a member of the National Defense and Security Board for 18
\nyears.<\/p>\n
He said yesterday that he had twice tried to contact Soeyono
\nwhen he was the Chief of the Central Javanese Military.<\/p>\n
Permadi was interrogated yesterday by secretary to the Deputy
\nAttorney General for Intelligence, B.T.P. Siregar, the head of
\nthe Sociopolitical Affairs of the Attorney General's Office,
\nKadarman, and the head of the Mass Media Unit of the Office,
\nHimawan.<\/p>\n
Siregar said that the investigators had not reached a
\nconclusion at the end of yesterday's non-stop interrogation and
\nthat, in any case, they would report the result to the Attorney
\nGeneral before revealing it to the press. He also claimed that
\nthe controversial cassettes were yet to be banned by authorities.
\n(imn\/har)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/permadi-ready-to-face-trial-for-prophecy-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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