Canadian medics to examine Pakpahan

Canadian medics to examine Pakpahan

JAKARTA (JP): A Canadian medical team sent specifically to
help diagnose convicted labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan, will begin
their examination of him today at Cikini Hospital, Central
Jakarta.

Hermansyur Kartowisastro of Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital said
the Canadian medical team would perform a lung imagery
fluorescence endoscopy (LIFE) examination to diagnose the extent
of Pakpahan's ailment.

"The examination will be carried out tomorrow (today),"
Hermansyur, who heads the Indonesian medical team treating
Pakpahan told reporters yesterday.

But it could take eight weeks before a diagnosis can be made.
A LIFE examination, presently unavailable in Indonesia, helps to
determine whether a patient has cancer and the extent of the
illness.

The Canadian medical team comprises lung specialist Dr.
Stephen Lam, clinical specialist Francien Catonio-Begley and
biomedical technical expert Richard Marshall. They arrived
Friday.

Canadian Foreign Minister Llyod Axworthy announced in
Vancouver, Canada, last month that Indonesia had agreed to allow
Canada to send diagnostic equipment and medical personnel to
examine Pakpahan.

Pakpahan said his scheduled trial today would be postponed
because he has to undergo the examination at 10 a.m.

Pakpahan, head of the unsanctioned Indonesian Prosperous Labor
Union (SBSI), is currently serving a four-year jail term after
being found guilty of inciting a riot in Medan, North Sumatra, in
1994.

He is also being tried for subversion over a series of
antigovernment speeches which the prosecution claims sowed public
hatred and undermined the government's authority.

Due to ailing health, Pakapahan has been undergoing medical
treatment for lung problems since March.

A request to go abroad for the LIFE examination was rejected
by the court in July.

The LIFE examination is based on the capacity of body tissue
project light exposed to a fluorescent glare.

A blue laser light is shot through an endoscope inserted into
the lungs.

"Normal tissue will look green, abnormal tissue will look
brown or brownish red, and this will guide us to a very specific
biopsy," said Lam who helped design the technique.

The abnormal tissue will be taken to a laboratory in Canada to
confirm the final diagnosis. (10)