Activists report on arbitrary arrests

JAKARTA (JP): A group of activists have urged the National Commission on Human Rights to probe what they called the arbitrary arrest and disappearance of their colleagues.

Led by well-known playwright Ratna Sarumpaet, the supporters of government critics Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais called themselves the Siaga group.

They told the commission's secretary-general, Baharuddin Lopa, Wednesday that seven Siaga activists were arrested without warrants in Bogor, West Java, on Feb. 7 when they distributed booklets containing Megawati's speeches.

They also reported that Siaga secretary Pius Lustrilanang and Desmond Mahesadari of the Nusantara Legal Aid Institute disappeared a few days before that. They said they feared that Pius had been secretly arrested.

Ratna said that although the activists arrested in Bogor had been released, they were required to regularly report to the police and would be taken to court on charges of insulting President Soeharto.

Lopa said the commission would look into the activists' claim. He stressed that if it was true the activists were arrested without the proper procedure, they should be released immediately.

Separately, Ratna told The Jakarta Post yesterday that 18 more Siaga activists in Bogor and one in Sukabumi were arrested Wednesday without being charged.

Neither Pius nor Desmond had returned yesterday she said, adding that Desmond was not involved in Siaga activism.

"We have every reason to believe that Pius' disappearance had to do with his activity with Siaga."

She recalled that a Megawati supporter, Hendrik Sirait, who disappeared in 1996 returned a week later only to report he had been detained, mistreated and was now deaf. (pan)