ABRI dismisses findings' variance

ABRI dismisses findings' variance

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) yesterday dismissed the
differences between the findings of the National Commission on
Human Rights' investigation into the July 27 riot and that of the
government as "natural".

ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid
said the differences came about because each one approached the
issue differently.

The commission had talked to and interviewed people and groups
different from those approached by the government, he said.

The commission on Saturday published a provisional report of
its findings, which said that five people were killed and 149
injured during the riots. It also said that 74 people continued
to be missing since the riots.

The report did not explain the circumstances of the deaths,
injuries or disappearances.

The government had earlier said four people were dead, but
gave no figure for people reported missing.

Syarwan said that the number of people reported missing in the
commission's report was not final. He suspected that these people
went missing because they were terrified of the authorities.

"Being absent from home for days is not an extraordinary
phenomenon here, is it?" he asked. "They are missing because they
are scared of being regarded as suspects in the riots."

The riots broke out following the violent take-over of the
headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party on Jl.
Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, by supporters of chairman Soerjadi.
The premises had been occupied by supporters of Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who was removed from the PDI leadership in a
government-sanctioned congress in Medan in June.

The violence quickly spread to neighboring streets with people
setting fire to office buildings and shops in the area.

Syarwan said people should not be too obsessed with the
figures presented in the commission's report, a practice he
described as a waste of time and energy. "Don't misinterpret the
figures, especially on the number of missing persons," he said.

They should be more concerned about the follow-up to the
investigation, he said.

Syarwan said the commission's finding would be considered as
auxiliary inputs for the government in its own investigation.

"The commission's findings and the government's findings are
complementary," he said.

Delays in announcing the results of the investigation prompted
speculation earlier that the commission was under pressure to
tone down the content of its report. Commission members however
said there was no such pressure from the government or the
military. (imn)