Army probe misses deadline
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces leadership failed yesterday to complete its investigation of three senior officers' alleged roles in the abductions of dozens of political activists.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, who heads the Officers Honor Council, told reporters that the investigation, originally expected to end yesterday, would continue on Tuesday after the Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
The council needed to ask the three officers of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) some more questions, Subagyo said.
"We will take a break and resume our duties after Aug. 17," he said after chairing a meeting of the seven-member council at the Army headquarters.
The three officers being questioned are Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto (Kopassus commandant-general from 1996 to 1998), Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, who succeeded Prabowo in March but was abruptly replaced in May, and Col. Chairawan, former Kopassus chief for intelligence operations.
The council had been expected to come up with recommendations on what punishment, if any, should be given to the officers.
The military has already announced its plan to court martial 10 lower-ranking Kopassus personnel for their alleged roles in the abductions.
The kidnappings are believed to have been part of the Kopassus operation to safeguard the People's Consultative Assembly meeting in March which saw the re-election of Soeharto for a seventh term as president.
Prabowo is the son-in-law of Soeharto, who was forced to resign in May following strong public pressure.
Subagyo said the council needed more evidence before it could come up with a firm conclusion.
He declined to give details of the investigation, but said that results would be announced to the public as soon as it was completed. "I'll tell you when the time comes," he said.
He appealed to the media to adhere to the presumption of innocence principle when reporting the investigation, and not to indulge in speculation about Prabowo's confession that he accepted responsibility for the kidnappings.
"The most important thing is that he admitted his mistakes and that he had misinterpreted his orders," he said.
Subagyo said all seven council members would return to their duties for the next few days to prepare and join in the Independence Day ceremonies.
The other six council members are ABRI Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi, ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Governor of the National Resilience Institute Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar, Inspector- general of the Ministry of Defense and Security Lt. Gen. Jusuf Kartanegara, the chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago and Armed Forces Academy Commandant-general Rear Adm. Achmad Sutjipto.
Former Kostrad chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Achmad Kemal Idris called on the council yesterday to be more transparent in disclosing the results of the investigation, and suggested the inclusion of representatives of non-governmental organizations in the process.
Their inclusion "will help the council's image" which in turn would "restore ABRI's reputation" Kemal told reporters in Yogyakarta.
He suggested the council recommend military tribunals. "Prabowo has admitted his mistakes. He must be court martialled," he said.
Relatives of the 12 political activists still missing visited Abdurrahman Wahid, the chairman of the 40-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, at his home in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, yesterday to seek his moral support.
The relatives said they were on the verge of giving up hope of ever finding their loved ones.
Abdurrahman told them they should continue praying to God and to seek guidance on the whereabouts of the missing activists. (imn/23/44/byg)