Police to question five Indonesians over protest<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police say they will summon for questioning five
\nIndonesians they suspect were involved in an anti-Indonesian
\ngovernment demonstration during President Soeharto's visit to
\nGermany last week.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the national police, Brig. Gen. I.K. Ratta,
\nidentified three of the five suspects yesterday as former Tempo
\neditor Goenawan Mohamad, legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas and
\ndemocracy activist Yeni Rosa Damayanti. He refused to name the
\nother two, saying only that they were East Timorese.<\/p>\n
Sri Bintang is a legislator of the United Development Party
\nwho is about to be dismissed from the House of Representatives by
\nhis own party. Yeni is an activist with the outspoken Pijar
\nFoundation. She recently completed a 12-month jail term for
\ndefaming President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Goenawan, whose leading newsweekly was banned last year, could
\nnot be reached for comment yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"We are following up reports that they were involved in the
\ndemonstration,\" Ratta said.<\/p>\n
He said that, because there were no Indonesian police at the
\ndemonstration, they would use video footage which has been
\nobtained for use as evidence.<\/p>\n
Ratta is the first official to confirm rumors of imminent
\npolice action against Yeni, Goenawan and Sri Bintang.<\/p>\n
According to the authorities, the five Indonesians were
\nspotted among the 100 demonstrators who greeted President
\nSoeharto's arrival in Hannover. The demonstrators accused the
\nIndonesian government of violating human rights.<\/p>\n
Also yesterday, deputy national police chief for operational
\naffairs, Maj. Gen. M.B. Hutagalung, said that the government
\nwould take legal action against any Indonesian nationals found to
\nhave been involved in the demonstration.<\/p>\n
Hutagalung said that national police detectives had been
\nassigned \"to collect all available evidence\" in connection with
\nthe suspected involvement of several people in the demonstration.<\/p>\n
\"In principle, we have to take legal measures against anybody
\ninvolved (in the demonstration),\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hutagalung said that press reports and suggestions made by
\nsome government officials constituted \"the basis\" for the police
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
\"It's just like reporters pursuing stories, they need to know
\nwhether an event is worth reporting,\" he said. \"Police, too, need
\nto find out whether an action can be considered a violation of
\nthe law.\"<\/p>\n
He said that the police would summon for questioning those
\nallegedly involved in the demonstration as soon as the evidence
\nhad been collected.<\/p>\n
\"The law must be upheld without discrimination,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Goenawan was quoted by AFP yesterday as saying that he was
\naware of rumors that police planned to take him in for
\nquestioning.<\/p>\n
He said, however: \"I'm not yet a caged animal.\"<\/p>\n
Interview<\/p>\n
Goenawan gave interviews to the German media while on holiday
\nin Germany but left Germany on March 19 -- almost two weeks
\nbefore President Soeharto's arrival -- and was back in Jakarta
\nwhen the protests occurred on April 5 and April 6.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Army Chief of Staff General Hartono said that if
\nthe media reports were true \"about the actions of some
\nIndonesians who besmirch their own nation, it is over the top.\"<\/p>\n
\"The head of state represents the entire Indonesian nation and
\nbeing treated like that, who would not be angry,\" he said, adding
\n\"we will see later what action will be taken by the authorities.\"<\/p>\n
A member of the Indonesian Armed Forces faction in the House
\nof Representatives, Aminullah Ibrahim, has urged the government
\nto consider legal action against people who took part in the
\nprotests.<\/p>\n
\"If it is proved that Indonesians were behind such
\ndemonstrations, they need to face the legal process,\" Media
\nIndonesia quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n
The paper also quoted a senior member of the ruling Golkar
\nparty, Oka Mahendra, as saying that the government needed to be
\nsure the demonstrations did not have any \"connections with
\nclandestine movements within the country.\" (bsr\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-to-question-five-indonesians-over-protest-1447893297",
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