Activist set to testify before U.S. Congress today

JAKARTA (JP): Political activist Pius Lustrilanang, who has fled Indonesia in search of safety, is scheduled today to testify before a U.S. Congressional subcommittee concerning his abduction, his lawyer said here yesterday.

In a statement made available to the media, the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) said Pius, 30, would testify before the subcommittee on international operations and human rights.

The statement, signed by PBHI deputy director Paskah Irianto, said the hearing would be held in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington.

PBHI said Pius received the invitation, dated May 1, earlier this week from the subcommittee's chairman, Representative Christopher H. Smith.

"Regarding human rights protection and promotion in Indonesia, Pius has confirmed that he will testify before the subcommittee," the PBHI statement said.

Pius, secretary-general of a loose association of supporters of government critics Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais, was scheduled to arrive in Washington yesterday.

PBHI said Pius' previous schedule to meet with leaders and human rights groups in Paris, London, Ireland, Belgium and Bonn had to be rescheduled.

Pius' visit to the United States is sponsored by the New York- based Human Rights Watch, the Robert Kennedy Memorial Center and the Indonesian community in the United States.

PBHI said the quick response from the United States and the international community indicated the seriousness of the disappearance cases.

The statement added that the world attention had reaffirmed that human rights promotion and protection had become a global concern, instead of a mere domestic affair.

PBHI, therefore, urged the government and the military to thoroughly investigate the disappearance cases.

A number of student and political activists known to be very critical of the government went missing in recent months following student antigovernment rallies staged almost daily across the archipelago.

Nine of the 14 people reported missing have been "found". But only Pius has gone public with an account of his experience, which included torture at the hands of an unknown group.

Pius flew to the Netherlands April 27, saying that his abductors had threatened to kill him if he spoke out about what had happened.

The National Commission on Human Rights said last week that the student and political activists who went missing were abducted by a well-organized group.

The commission also said there was now growing public perception that the state security apparatus may have been involved.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto, however, has denied any such allegations, saying that there had never been any instruction or policy in ABRI to abduct people.

Wiranto said last week that ABRI had set up a team to investigate the cases of missing people and determine whether any members of the military were involved. (byg)