Dibyo urged to resign over Udin's killing
Dibyo urged to resign over Udin's killing
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The local chapter of the Association of
Indonesian Journalists (PWI) are calling on National Police Chief
Gen. Dibyo Widodo to resign over the failure of his force to
solve the 1996 murder of journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin.
The call was issued in an official statement signed by
chairman Oka Kususmayudha and was read to reporters by the
association's secretary general Rakiman D.S. here yesterday.
Rakiman said the statement had been sent to Gen. Dibyo, Armed
Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, the Yogyakarta Police chief and
Sri Roso Sudarmo, the regent of the town of Bantul, where Fuad
lived and was murdered.
Rakiman said the association had assisted police conduct their
investigation into the killing, but still they had failed to
discover who murdered the Bernas journalist, who was better known
as Udin.
"It's now 21 months since Udin was killed and the police have
yet to make progress with their investigation," he said.
Udin was attacked by a gang of unidentified people in his
Bantul home, 30 kilometers south of Yogyakarta, and died in a
hospital in the city on Aug. 16, 1996.
The police, during the course of their investigation, arrested
and arraigned Dwi Soemadji, alias Iwik, as the single defendant
in the case, but the local district court finally acquitted him
in Nov. 1997, citing insufficient grounds for conviction.
Many observers, including the local chapter of the PWI,
believe that Udin's murder was linked to critical reports he
prepared on land appropriation, the embezzlement of funds, and
the renomination of Sri Roso for a second term as regent of
Bantul.
Udin said in one of his reports that a powerful local figure
offered to support Sri Roso's renomination in exchange for Rp 1
billion, which the regent had to send to the Dharmais Foundation
chaired by former president Soeharto.
Sri Roso admitted to having agreed to the deal, but claimed
never to have paid the sum demanded.
Rakiman said several local police officers, including former
Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman and former
chief of the Bantul police precinct Lt. Col. Ada Subardan, should
be questioned over the failure of the investigation.
"The police should also reinterview all witnesses, especially
those who saw Udin being assaulted. Local officials in Bantul
should also be questioned," he said.
Meanwhile, dozens of members of the Bantul chapter of the
Association of Muhammadyah Youths (AMM) lodged a protest with the
Bantul regency council over the failure to solve the case. They
also urged Sri Roso to step down for his alleged involvement in
Udin's murder. (23/rms)