'Supersemar' witness breaks silence over new assertions<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) M.
\nJusuf has broken his silence on circumstances surrounding the
\nsigning of the controversial document which effectively
\ntransferred power from founding president Sukarno to Soeharto 32
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
Jusuf, 70, who is reportedly the sole surviving witness to
\nSukarno's signing of the document -- known by the acronym
\n\"Supersemar\" for the date March 11, 1966 -- attested on Friday to
\nthe historical version of events and denied a recent account by
\nformer Sukarno guard Soekardjo Wilardjito.<\/p>\n
The document's whereabouts are unknown.<\/p>\n
Jusuf said he was accompanied by Maj. Gen. Basuki Rachmat and
\nMaj. Gen. Amirmachmud, both of whom are deceased, to the Bogor
\nPresidential Palace to meet Sukarno. All three held ministerial
\nstatus.<\/p>\n
Second Lt. (ret) Soekardjo Wilardjito, 71, claimed in
\nYogyakarta recently that he attended the fateful meeting in his
\ncapacity as Sukarno's adjutant. In a startling revelation, he
\nsaid he saw Gen. (ret) Maraden Panggabean at the meeting.<\/p>\n
He alleged that Panggabean, then the army deputy minister,
\npointed a gun at Sukarno to intimidate him into signing the
\nprepared letter.<\/p>\n
\"It's not true that Maj. Gen. Basuki Rachmat or any of the
\nthree of carried a gun when meeting with President Sukarno,\"
\nJusuf was reported as saying by Antara news agency.<\/p>\n
\"Maraden Panggabean did not follow or go with us to the Bogor
\nPalace.\"<\/p>\n
Panggabean, 76, has also denied Soekardjo's account and
\nbranded him a liar.<\/p>\n
Jusuf, also a former defense minister during the Soeharto
\npresidency, denied he carried the prepared document or that
\nSukarno was coerced to follow their orders.<\/p>\n
The document instructed then army minister Soeharto to restore
\norder in chaotic Jakarta following an aborted communist coup on
\nSept. 30, 1965.<\/p>\n
Some historians have speculated that the fateful directive
\nserved as \"a disguised coup\" by the army against Sukarno's rule,
\nciting how the document has \"conveniently\" disappeared from
\nnational archives.<\/p>\n
Jusuf denied any knowledge of the document's whereabouts.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know. My duty was finished when we returned to
\nJakarta and handed it over to Soeharto,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the three generals left the palace at 8:30 p.m. on the
\nnight of the signing, not at 1 a.m. on March 12 as Soekardjo
\nclaimed.<\/p>\n
Jusuf said he was subsequently assigned to become a minister
\nof industry, which he described as a \"very busy\" job.<\/p>\n
He hoped his explanation would put an end to the controversy
\nsurrounding how the document came into being.<\/p>\n
\"I am speaking honestly here, like I have always done since I
\nwas minister of industry, minister of defense and chairman of the
\nSupreme Audit Agency,\" he said. (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/supersemar-witness-breaks-silence-over-new-assertions-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}