Aryanti seeking police clarification, protection

JAKARTA (JP): After suffering a recent campaign of terror aimed at her and her family, Aryanti Sitepu, the housewife who allegedly had an extramarital affair with President Abdurrahman Wahid, requested police protection on Monday.

Her lawyers went to the Jakarta Police Headquarters, asking the police to provide protection for her and clarify her status in the case.

"Our client and her family have received threats either by phone or by people who directly came to their house," lawyer Ahmad Yani told reporters at the police headquarters.

Ahmad, however, did not elaborate about the form of the threats.

He said that some men, who claimed to be police officers from the City Police, had also come to Aryanti's residence in East Bekasi showing a letter they claimed to be a police summons and asking questions.

"But they never left the letter. Our client and her family did not know whether it was really a police summons," Ahmad said.

The lawyer also said that Aryanti received a call on her cellular phone on Saturday supposedly from the auto theft and vice unit of the City Police, asking her to come to the police headquarters on Monday for questioning.

"We come here today to ask for clarification from the police (about the summons) because we haven't received an official letter about the summons," he said.

Abdurrahman's alleged extramarital affair with Aryanti became a hot discussion point among legislators in the final days of the 12-day Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly last month.

The story became headlines in several of the country's media last week, after Aryanti, who currently lives with her second husband, revealed her alleged affair with the President to a Jakarta-based magazine.

In an interview with the media, Aryanti claimed to have met with the President in 1995, when she was still married to her first husband, at several locations in Bali and Jakarta.

The authenticity of a picture showing Aryanti, who was dressed in a nightgown while sitting on Abdurrahman's lap, has also been a hot discussion point among the public.

Ahmad said that his client would be ready for questioning if the police really did issue her with a summons.

"But we want to know what the case is. Is it a defamation or a complaint. If it's a complaint, who has filed the report," Ahmad said.

Despite the growing calls for the President to clarify the matter, Abdurrahman has yet to make a comment on the alleged affair.

Ahmad claimed that his client had not committed a crime.

"There's no regulation in this country, which prohibits somebody to tell the story of his or her life," Ahmad said.

Ahmad and his team, however, failed to meet Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Nurfaizi.

Ahmad said that a staff member at the City Police said Nurfaizi could not meet the lawyers because he was at a meeting. (jaw)