ABRI response on missing people awaited
ABRI response on missing people awaited
JAKARTA (JP): The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims
of Violence says it has yet to receive a response from Minister
of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto to
its request for a meeting to discuss the disappearances of
students and political activists.
The commission's executive, Munir, said Wiranto had not
responded to the letter requesting the meeting, sent last
Tuesday.
"A staff member at the defense ministry said Friday that the
letter was lost," said Munir, who is also operational secretary
of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute.
Munir said the military should fulfill its promise made
earlier last week to investigate the whereabouts of the missing
students and activists.
Some of the missing activists who have recently returned to
their families have remained silent and refuse to disclose
anything about their experience or whereabouts during the time
they were reported missing.
They are Desmon J. Mahesa from the Nusantara Legal Aid
Institute, Pius Lustrilanang from Siaga -- an association which
supports government critic Amien Rais and the ousted leader of
the Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri -- and
Haryanto Taslam, who is a loyal supporter of Megawati.
The commission, however, has reported that there were at least
eight people still missing. They are Andi Arief, Abdul Rahardjo
Waluyo Djati, Herman Hendrawan, Faizol Reza, Bimo Petrus, Suyat,
Yani Avri and Sonny.
Deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights
Marzuki Darusman said the military should immediately seek
information from a number of formerly missing activists who had
returned to their families.
"A military initiative to ask information from the activists,
and then inform the public, would end public confusion," Marzuki
was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.
In Yogyakarta, the handcuffs which had been used by the police
to arrest the son of renowned writer Seno Gumira Ajidarma, 19-
year-old Timur Angin, were delivered to the Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute.
The handcuffs will soon be presented to the National
Commission on Human Rights and then handed over to the United
Nation's Commission for Human Rights, according to the Yogyakarta
Legal Aid Insitute.
"The handcuffs were used to restrain Timur (during his arrest)
as if he was a criminal," said Budi Hartono of the institute.
There were no details as to how the institute got a hold of the
handcuffs.
Timur was seriously injured in the clash between thousands of
protesting students and security personnel at Gadjah Mada
University on April 3. He was hospitalized for eight days.
Six street singers, who were also arrested at the
demonstration, requested last week the protection of the legal
aid office.
The singers were released from several police stations April
13 after undergoing interrogation for alleged involvement in the
student protest.
They told the legal aid office they needed protection so they
could continue with their daily activities "free from the terror
and threats of the security officers". (23/44/byg)