Aberson says his indictment is inaccurate

JAKARTA (JP): A legislator, charged with defaming President Soeharto, said yesterday his statements quoted in the prosecutor's indictment were inaccurate.

Aberson Marle Sihaloho, a member of the House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), told the Central Jakarta District Court that none of the quotations were accurate because they had been reedited in a such a way that they lost their essence.

Aberson is on trial for the alleged defamation of the President at a PDI free speech forum on July 13, 1996, at the party's headquarters.

Aberson told the court that he remembered all of the words he used during his speech, and not a single part of the speech, as quoted by the prosecutor, was precise.

He also said that he made the speech because Sabam Sirait, a fellow legislator from the same party, asked him to deliver a speech on the state budget at the forum's request.

Answering one of the prosecutor's questions, Aberson said that he did say it was unnecessary to disseminate the state ideology, Pancasila, among Indonesians, because it was not the part of the 1945 Constitution.

"I made that statement because I thought the government has spent so much of people's money on something unrelated to their welfare."

But, he added, it was the fault of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in making the dissemination of Pancasila one of its decisions, which President Soeharto has to carry out, he said.

Aberson said that this meant it was not the President's fault, but MPR's.

The court was packed with dozens of spectators, who applauded Aberson's deliberated answers to the prosecutors' questions. Judge Suhardjo even had to ask the spectators to remain silent and told Aberson not to make such long statements.

Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, who defended Aberson, asked the court to conduct a reenactment of the speech given by Aberson at the PDI headquarters, but the request was turned down.

Outside the court, Luhut said that the defendant's testimony was very good and that it was part of his obligation as the people's representative.

"His testimony also proves that all of the prosecutor's accusations and material evidence were not accurate," he said.

Last week, Luhut and his client left the courtroom because they refused to watch videotape evidence of Aberson's speech, saying that "it had been edited and dubbed".

The hearing was adjourned until May 15 when the prosecutor's concluding statement will be heard. (12)