ABRI to summon Prabowo soon

ABRI to summon Prabowo soon

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen.
Wiranto said on Tuesday he would summon Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo
Subianto, former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command
(Kostrad), to question him about a meeting at Kostrad
headquarters one day after violent rioting in the capital.

He also told legislators that Prabowo, also former commander
of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and son-in-law of former
president Soeharto, could be brought to court for his involvement
in the abduction of activists if required by the ongoing trial of
11 Kopassus members.

"I will call him (Prabowo) immediately to ask for his
clarification of the May 14 meeting to let the public know
whether it had anything to do with the rioting or not," he told
the House of Representatives Commission I for defense and
security.

The commission urged him to summon Prabowo as soon as
possible. Legislators said the public was confused over
allegations that Prabowo was closely linked with the riots,
despite the denials he sent through friends from Jordan, where he
is now staying.

A joint fact-finding team was established by the government to
investigate the riots in which 1,200 were killed, many of them
trapped in burning malls. The team has urged the government to
conduct further investigations into the riots, including the May
14 meeting.

The government has acknowledged that dozens of women were also
sexually violated, but denied the team's conclusion that the
riots were organized.

Noted businessman Hashim S. Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo's younger
brother, has insisted there was nothing secret about the meeting,
which was a "very normal meeting among friends".

Gozali Abbas of the United Development Party (PPP) raised
questions about Prabowo's whereabouts. "We do not know whether he
has escaped Indonesia. Many newspapers have reported he is in
Germany and many others reported he is in Jordan. Why does he
stay overseas while facing many problems at home?"

A presidential spokeswoman, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, had earlier
raised similar questions regarding Prabowo.

The ABRI commander said Prabowo could be brought to trial for
his involvement in the abduction of political activists.

"If the (ongoing) trial of 11 defendants proves that Prabowo
was involved in the abduction, the latter will be brought to
court," he said.

Gozali has spoken of public amazement that the results of the
Officers' Honor Council's inquiry into Prabowo's role in the
abduction case had been separated from the ongoing trial, which
Wiranto denied.

Prabowo was honorably discharged from military service after
admitting to the Council to have ordered the abduction of nine of
the 23 activists reported to have been kidnapped. The whereabouts
of the other activists is still unknown.

Wiranto also said the Armed Forces had no intention of
intervening in the trial. Many have said the military trial is a
farce as the prosecution does not implicate the soldiers'
superiors, despite Prabowo's earlier confession to the Council.

Wiranto repeated his explanation of the concentration of
troops around the President's residence and the State Palace last
May.

President B.J. Habibie has said they were under the command of
Prabowo. He has not specified the purpose of the deployment but
told a meeting of German and Asian editors that he had ordered
Wiranto to disperse the troops.

His spokeswoman, Dewi, refuted Prabowo's statement regarding
the deployment of troops. Prabowo said he aimed to protect the
President under orders from the Armed Forces, while Dewi said
Habibie and his family had felt threatened.

Wiranto told the House: "There was no coup attempt at that time."

Wiranto reiterated that there were many troops deployed at
that time because of social instability in the capital. He said
they were under the command of the city's military and police,
not the Army's Strategic Reserves Command or its Special Forces.

While there has been speculation over Habibie's remarks to the
editors' gathering, Wiranto insisted the statement was made to
show that despite the unstable situation, ABRI was committed to
remaining loyal to the 1945 Constitution.

He added that he accompanied the President when he met the
editors. (rms)