12 high-ranking officers named as suspects

12 high-ranking officers named as suspects

JAKARTA (JP): A National Military Police officer confirmed on
Thursday that 12 high-ranking officers had been named as suspects
in the July 27, 1996 violent takeover of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Col. Hendardji, Director of Investigation at the National
Military Police headquarters (Puspom), said the suspects would be
charged with Article 170 of the Criminal Code on uses of
violence.

The Article carries two different maximum jail sentences to
the violators: seven to nine years imprisonment if the violence
causes the victim(s) to suffer severe injuries, and 12 years in
jail if the victim(s) die.

Hendardji, also a member of a joint National Police-Military
Police investigation team, however, refused to disclose the
identities of the suspects nor their roles during the attack.

"If we disclose the suspects' identities to the press now, the
public will tip them as guilty. Meanwhile, they have yet to be
prosecuted," he told The Jakarta Post by phone on Thursday.

"It's not only the suspects, but also their families who will
suffer if their identities are revealed," he said.

A list of military and police officers allegedly implicated in
the July 1996 incident, however, shows that there are 22
suspects, instead of 12.

The list, which was made available to journalists on Thursday,
also shows that the 22 suspects are part of a group of 58
security officers who have been questioned by the joint
investigation team since June 2000.

Among the high-ranking police and military officers who were
tipped as suspects in the list were: Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung,
former chief of the former Armed Forces (ABRI); Gen. (ret) Dibyo
Widodo, former chief of the National Police; Lt. Gen. (ret)
Syarwan Hamid, former chief of ABRI Sociopolitical Affairs; Lt.
Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso, former chief of City Military command and
incumbent Governor of Jakarta; Lt. Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, former City Military command's chief of staff and
incumbent Minister of Mines and Energy; Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar
Makarim, former chief of ABRI's Intelligence Body (BIA) and Insp.
Gen. Hamami Nata, former City Police chief.

Fourteen other security officers have yet to be declared as
suspects, but their names were put under the "witness/suspect"
column, meaning that there was strong indications that they would
also be tipped as suspects.

The remaining 22 security officers were nominated as
witnesses.

Hendardji insisted that the number of the suspects were only
12, not 22.

"Until today, there are 12 suspects in the list. However, it
can increase along with the progress of the investigation," he
said.

Hendardji admitted that the team had faced some scheduling
problems with the investigation.

"Some of the officers have moved to new duty areas, such as
Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara. Others had important jobs which
they couldn't abandon," he said.

Hendardji vowed that the team would soon complete the
questioning.

"We'll complete the questioning in early September," he said.

"The high-ranking officers to be questioned on Monday are Maj.
Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim and Brig. Gen. Basir Badrawi, former
adjutant of then National Police chief Gen. (ret) Dibyo Widodo,"
he said.

Separately, another team member, Sr. Supt. Makbul Padmanegara
said the team had questioned 86 civilians about the case.

"Some 11 out of the 86 witnesses have been designated as
suspects," Makbul, an officer at the National Police detectives
unit, said on Thursday.

Civilians have been questioned by police investigators, while
security officers were questioned by the team.

Separately, seven activists of the Communication Forum for
Relatives of the Victims of the July 27, 19966 Incident staged a
protest at the National Military Police Headquarters on Jl. Medan
Merdeka Timur on Thursday, demanding an honest and fair
investigation into the 1996 incident.

Deputy National Military Police chief Brig. Gen. Ruchjan told
the visiting delegation that the team would soon complete the
investigation.

On that fateful day, a group of supporters of PDI's splinter
faction, backed by elements of ABRI, raided and took over the
party headquarters from the loyalists of ousted PDI leader
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The party headquarters' takeover triggered unrest throughout
Central Jakarta on the same day, resulting in the deaths of at
least five people. Twenty-three people are still missing.
(asa/07)