Assault inquiry to be handled internally

JAKARTA (JP): The incident in which former Aceh governor and Soeharto minister Ibrahim Hasan was assaulted at a discussion meeting will be handled peacefully within the Acehnese people's group that organized the meeting, a group representative said here yesterday.

Mustafa Abubakar, chairman of Taman Iskandar Muda, a grouping of Acehnese people living in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post that the former minister has decided to settle the matter within the group and has asked him to conduct an inquiry.

"We have therefore withdrawn the report on the incident which we submitted to the police, but that does not mean we are going to ignore the law.

"We want the case to be handled fairly," Mustafa explained.

Ibrahim was attacked by a man during a break in a discussion on development in Aceh held in Hotel Cempaka in Central Jakarta on Saturday. The attacker was possibly angered by the alleged mass killing of Acehnese people by the military while Ibrahim was governor of the province between 1986 and 1993.

Ibrahim suffered minor injuries to his nose but was otherwise unhurt.

Mustafa said that his organization knew where Ibrahim's assailant lived and that members of the Ciputat branch in South Jakarta were closely monitoring his movements.

"I have not met him (the attacker), but our members have said that he will not leave the city and that he is ready to be summoned if we need further information regarding the incident," Mustafa explained.

Mustafa also reiterated that the organization intended to settle the matter based on the norms and values of Acehnese society "in a peaceful and fair manner."

When asked if the attacker had apologized to Ibrahim, Mustafa simply said the resolution of the incident was still in process.

Meanwhile, Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said he had not been informed of the groups intention to settle the matter internally and withdraw the report submitted to police on the incident.

"The police will continue to investigate the incident because it was a criminal offense and must be investigated by the police irrespective of the organizations stance on the matter," Iman explained.

Mustafa said the attacker was probably a student or an activist, but refused to give further details.

"The attacker probably became very emotional in the discussion before the assault took place.

"But that is still no excuse to beat somebody, especially an honorable member of our society like Ibrahim Hasan," he added. (edt)