Bintang, Xanana banned to testify

JAKARTA (JP): Jailed politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas and East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao were forbidden to testify yesterday at a youth activist's trial at the South Jakarta District Court.

Wilson bin Nurtias, a Democratic People's Party (PRD) activist charged with subversion, told the court that Bintang and Xanana were ready to appear when the ban came into force.

"Bintang and Xanana were ready when suddenly Cipinang prison officials stopped them, showing them a letter from state prosecutor Dedi Pridasa," Wilson said.

The letter addressed to the court stated that the two witnesses were irrelevant to the offense that the defendant had committed.

It was the second time that Bintang and Xanana had been forbidden to testify. On Monday, the two were not allowed to testify at the trial of another PRD activist, I Gusti Anom Astika, on the grounds that there were was no letter of consent from the Ministry of Justice.

Xanana had led the East Timor independence guerrilla movement. He was captured in November 1992 and is serving a 20-year jail term for insurrection.

Bintang is serving a 34-month prison sentence for insulting President Soeharto in speeches in Germany. (05)