Break-in at missing activist's house

Break-in at missing activist's house

BANDUNG: A number of unidentified people broke into the house
of missing activist Usep Setiawan here at noon on Tuesday,
stealing important documents on his work at the Agrarian Reform
Consortium (KPA), a television set and gold jewelry belonging to
his wife.

"We believe this break-in has something to do with Usep's
disappearance on Aug. 14," said Teguh, a activist of KPA, a loose
non-governmental organization dealing with land and agricultural
affairs.

A computer and a motorbike parked in another room of Usep's
house remained untouched.

Usep, along with three student activists, went missing after
joining a hunger strike at the People's Consultative Assembly
building on the eighth day of its Annual Session on Aug. 14.

The four men were reportedly picked up by security personnel
and were then dropped in front of General Elections Commission
(KPU) building on Jl. Imam Bonjol.

One of Usep's relatives, Paras, said that for a couple of days
the phone at Usep house on Jl. Antamulya No. 2 in Buah Batu
subdistrict, kept ringing.

"But when we answered, either nobody spoke or they just hung
up," Paras said.

West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Darajatun said later
in the day that the police had not issued a search warrant for
Usep's house.

"We are trying to locate him in cooperation with the Jakarta
Police. We did send officers to check on the family, but not for
a house search," Adang said. (25/edt)