Police name 11 suspects in PDI HQ attack<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Police Headquarters disclosed on
\nMonday that its investigation of the attack on the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996 has been
\naccomplished.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after the questioning of then Army Chief
\nof Staff Gen. (ret) Raden Hartono, the last of the 190 people
\nquestioned, National Police Deputy Chief of Detectives for
\nGeneral Crimes Col. Makbul Padmanegara said that his office so
\nfar has named 11 suspects in the case.<\/p>\n
\"With the completion of our investigation, we will soon summon
\nthe seven dossiers of the 11 suspects to the prosecutors office,\"
\nMakbul said.<\/p>\n
All of the 11 suspects are civilians.<\/p>\n
According to Makbul, it's beyond police authority to name
\nmilitary officers as suspects.<\/p>\n
\"We can only ask them to testify as witness. But we are going
\nto give some input to the military commander, and the rest is up
\nto National Military Police Headquarters to investigate further,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
When asked about the alleged role of then president Soeharto,
\nMakbul said: \"Based on witnesses' testimonies, there has been no
\nhint of former president Soeharto's involvement in the incident.<\/p>\n
According to witnesses, Soeharto only gave normative
\ndirections regarding the national security situation at that
\ntime,\" said Makbul.<\/p>\n
He identified the suspects as former PDI chairman Soerjadi;
\nformer deputy chairman Alex Widya Siregar; former secretary-
\ngeneral Buttu Hutapea; party executive board members Romulus
\nSihombing and Harsoko Sudiro; party member Yonathan Marpaung;
\nexecutive of Pemuda Pancasila youth organization Yorrys Raweyai;
\nand four men -- M. Tanjung, Pratomo, Edi Kisworo and Rosyid --
\ndubbed as members of the Johar Baru group.<\/p>\n
The four men were said to have hired local Johar Baru
\nresidents to join them in the attack.<\/p>\n
All of the suspects, Makbul said, were charged with violation
\nof Article 170 of the Law on Criminal Code about attacking and
\noppression, and Article 200 about deliberately damaging a
\nbuilding.<\/p>\n
Article 170 carries a maximum sentence of nine years while
\nArticle 200 carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.<\/p>\n
Makbul insisted that the National Police carried out the
\nquestioning and investigation of the case transparently and
\nindependently.<\/p>\n
\"This is good momentum to maintain law supremacy in the
\ncountry,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 190 people questioned over the case comprised 92
\ncivilians, 29 police personnel and 29 military officers.<\/p>\n
The last witness, Hartono, arrived at the National Police
\nHeadquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo in South Jakarta on Monday at
\naround 9.45 p.m. and left around 11.15 p.m.<\/p>\n
Like Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung, then Indonesian Military
\nCommander, who was questioned last Friday, Hartono refused to
\ntalk with the press.<\/p>\n
\"My lawyers will give the explanations,\" said the former
\nminister of information, before getting into his Toyota Royal
\nCrown and driving away.<\/p>\n
According to his lawyer, Col. Agus B. Setiawan from the
\nIndonesian Military Legal Affairs Department, police asked
\nHartono 20 questions.<\/p>\n
\"The substance was about the meeting at Soeharto's residence
\non Jl. Cendana and about the Rp 300 million that City Military
\nCommander (Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, now Jakarta Governor) borrowed
\nfrom the Army chief of staff,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Agus said Hartono admitted to having attended the Cendana
\nmeeting with several top ranking military officers one week
\nbefore the incident. But, like Feisal, Hartono also said that the
\nmeeting did not involve any plan to take over the PDI
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
As for the money, Sutiyoso initially proposed some Rp 500
\nmillion to Hartono's deputy for meal allowance for the security
\ntroops, deployed to secure Jakarta after the incident.<\/p>\n
Hartono agreed to disburse Rp 300 million, which was later
\nreturned by Sutiyoso as the latter already had received money
\nfrom Indonesian Military Headquarters, Agus said.<\/p>\n
The July 1996 riot erupted after a group of supporters of
\nPDI's splinter faction, lead by Soerjadi and backed by elements
\nin the former Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), raided and took
\nover the party headquarters from the supporters of toppled PDI
\nleader Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi replaced Megawati, now Vice President, in a
\ngovernment-sponsored congress in May 1996.<\/p>\n
The headquarters takeover triggered mass unrest throughout the
\ncapital, resulting in the deaths of at least five people and
\ninjury to 149 others. Meanwhile, 23 people are reportedly still
\nmissing. (09)<\/p>",
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