ABRI denies involvement in activists' disappearance
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) headquarters yesterday dismissed allegations that the military were behind the recent disappearance of a number of activists.
ABRI spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab Mokodongan said the allegations were groundless.
"How can people say that ABRI are behind the disappearances when our personnel have painstakingly searched high and low for the missing individuals?" he asked journalists.
Jakarta Regional Military Commander, Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, also denied the allegations.
"I wonder if people have evidence to back up their allegations," he separately told reporters after opening a one- day campaign for blood donations at the Jakarta Regional Military Command headquarters yesterday.
Wahab said the Armed Forces headquarters had instructed the National Police to investigate the disappearances.
"We have checked with district military and police offices around the country regarding the activists' whereabouts, but without any success", he said.
The Foundation of the Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) launched a protest regarding the missing activists on Monday.
"Any kind of abduction cannot be tolerated because it is against the law," YLBHI said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday.
"Any relevant institutions, especially the National Police and the Military Police Corps, should immediately begin investigating the whereabouts of the missing activists," it said.
The statement was signed by YLBHI deputy chairman Munir and the foundation's secretary Dadang Trisasongko.
The foundation believes the activists' disappearance is linked to demonstrations by Siaga -- a loose association which supports prominent government critics including Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais. All the missing activists belong to the group.
The foundation lists 11 activists as missing. They include Pius Lustrilanang, 29, the secretary of Siaga, and Desmond J. Mahesa, a director of the Jakarta-based Nusantara Legal Aid Foundation.
Pius, also secretary of the People's Democratic Alliance, was reported missing on Feb. 4. Desmond was reported missing on Feb. 3, one day after he was visited by military intelligence agents, according to his associates.
Also on the list are Andi Arief, Faisal Rezha, Rahardjo Waluyo Djati, and Nezar Patria, all from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Herman Hendrawan from Airlangga University in Surabaya, and Mugianto and Aan Rusdianto, who are also university students.
Haryanto Taslam, who was deputy secretary of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under Megawati Soekarnoputri, was recently added to the list. He was reported missing on March 9.
Megawati confirmed reports of Haryanto's disappearance on Monday.
"I need a formal request from Haryanto's family before I can formally request the police help find Haryanto," she told the Post. (imn/09)