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)