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)