Student comes face-to-face with 'recruiter'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A military officer on Thursday challenged
\ndirectly the student who claims he was forced to become an
\ninformer by him.<\/p>\n
Media were allowed to attend the face-to-face meeting of
\nsecond private Budi Leksono, a military police officer in the
\npresidential guard unit, with student Wiwid Pratiwo at military
\npolice headquarters.<\/p>\n
Presiding was National Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri
\nMarin, with military police investigators and parents of both
\nWiwid and Budi in attendance. Wiwid refused to greet Budi despite
\nencouragement from others in attendance.<\/p>\n
Both were earlier questioned separately by the investigators.
\nThe meeting confirmed they knew each other, but Budi denied that
\nhe recruited Wiwid.<\/p>\n
"I never imagined Wiwid would do something like this," Budi
\nsaid. "I came to regard him as my younger brother."<\/p>\n
Budi has deserted from the presidential guard unit on four
\noccasions, military police said.<\/p>\n
Wiwid said he had 20 witnesses to back up his claims, but did
\nnot elaborate. He said there were many informers but they were
\nprevented from contacting each other.<\/p>\n
Wiwid, who has identified himself as a Trisakti University
\nstudent, was apprehended last month by students suspicious of his
\nactivities. He claimed at the time he was coerced by someone he
\ncalled "BL" into becoming an informer. BL had threatened his
\nfamily if he refused, he said.<\/p>\n
Trisakti said Budi was only enrolled for one term in 1996 to
\n1997.<\/p>\n
He also claimed he was warned several hours in advance of the
\nshooting near the Semanggi cloverleaf on Nov. 13. He said he
\nreceived a message through a pager provided by BL that
\n"everybody" near Atma Jaya university should leave because a
\n"shooting spree" would occur.<\/p>\n
Clashes in Jakarta between students and security personnel --
\nwhich claimed 16 lives and left more than 400 injured -- took
\nplace on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 amid student protests against the
\nSpecial Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
On Nov. 25, military police showed Wiwid several photographs
\nof officers with the initials BL. He picked out Budi Leksono.<\/p>\n
Budi denied giving Wiwid the pager.<\/p>\n
"The pager belongs to Wiwid and I have never given him one,"
\nBudi said. "I come from a low-income family. I cannot afford to
\nbuy such an expensive pager."<\/p>\n
Both Wiwid and Budi also differed on the ownership of a kris,
\nwhich the former had presented along with the pager as evidence
\nof their relationship.<\/p>\n
"The kris was given by Second Pvt. Budi Leksono to me," Wiwid
\nsaid. Wiwid said the kris was a talisman to protect him.<\/p>\n
While they differed on the time when they met for the first
\ntime, Wiwid and Budi agreed on the place.<\/p>\n
"I met Second Pvt. Budi Leksono at 12 p.m. at a bus shelter
\nsomewhere near Hotel Indonesia," Wiwid said, claiming he was
\nmistaken when he earlier related they met in Tomang, West
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"I met Wiwid at 2 p.m. at a bus shelter in front of Jl.
\nMartapura in Central Jakarta," Budi said. They agreed the meeting
\noccurred in July.<\/p>\n
Wiwid reiterated his earlier testimony that he was assigned to
\nrecruit civilian guards and monitor universities to gather
\ninformation on student movements.<\/p>\n
Prior to the Special Session, he was sent on assignment to
\nseveral towns in Java to recruit civilian guards using four Army
\nmilitary trucks. He said he returned with 160 people and took
\nthem to Cijantung, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
An officer in charge of vehicles of the presidential guard
\nunit denied Wiwid's claim he used the vehicles.<\/p>\n
Wiwid could not specify the exact place, but said he had
\nvisited the shopping mall belonging to the Army's Special Force
\n(Kopassus). He had said he was often taken to Budi's dormitory in
\nTanah Abang, Central Jakarta, and also "to his office on Jl.
\nMerdeka Selatan, the vice presidential palace". (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/student-comes-face-to-face-with-recruiter-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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