Ex-political prisoners reunited with families after 29 years

JAKARTA (JP): Soebandrio and Omar Dhani were reunited with their families on Wednesday, this time for good.

Tears greeted them, but, unlike previous meetings, this time tears of joy trickled down the bright faces of the two men and those greeting them at their homes on Wednesday.

Both Soebandrio and Omar and their families know they will never have to return to jail, and will never have to endure the hardship they went through for nearly 30 years.

On their first day of freedom, the two former political prisoners had an emotional reunion at home with their families, but both made time for close friends and the occasional reporter.

"I'm sorry I cannot comment on my new status and condition. I haven't had enough sleep since I came home," a visibly tired Omar told reporters at his home in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta.

"It hadn't hit me that I was a free man when I went to bed last night," Soebandrio said from his home in Menteng. "I became fully conscious of my freedom when I touched my wife's leg."

Soebandrio, an 81 year old former deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, and Omar Dhani, a 71-year old former air force commander, regained their freedom at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday.

After enduring 50 minutes of essential administrative procedures, the two men were driven home in separate cars provided by the Cipinang correctional facility.

They left the jail through the back door to avoid the gaggle of reporters and cameramen who had been waiting by the gate for hours.

Twenty-nine years of incarceration had ended.

The two men were convicted for being involved in the abortive 1965 coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. They were sentenced to death by the court, but their death sentences were commuted in the early 1980s when President Soeharto granted them clemency. Last month they were informed that their second request for clemency had been granted and that they were to be released some time after Aug. 15.

A third political prisoner, former police brigadier general Raden Soegeng Soetarto, was also freed on Wednesday. But 77-year- old Soetarto is in the St. Carolus private hospital undergoing treatment for depression.

"I can't wait to get back together with my family," Soetarto told The Jakarta Post in the hospital's guest room. "I miss the time when I used to go with my wife to eat Chinese Food in Glodok," he said.

Soetarto must undergo some more therapy before being discharged.

His wife, Marie, said she had received many telephone calls from relatives and friends in Indonesia and abroad.

"Several top officials, who are friends of mine and my husband's, congratulated me after it was announced that my husband was going to be free on July 28," she said.

Omar was playing the good host on Wednesday, welcoming relatives and friends.

He admitted that he felt like a stranger in the home he was taken from 29 years ago because it had changed a lot.

"I can only recall the rambutan tree in the front yard. The others have changed totally."

"All I can say is that I am very happy to be together with my husband again after being physically separated for almost 30 years," Sri Wuryanti, his wife, chipped in.

She also confided that they planned to go to Klaten in Central Java to pay homage to the family cemetery.

Budi Setia Maharesi, Omar's youngest child, said his father and mother only had three hours sleep the previous morning.

"Look at them. Don't they look like newlyweds?" Istati Putri, Omar's eldest daughter, said pointing at her parents who were sitting on a bench eating lunch.

The mood was also joyful at Soebandrio's home on Wednesday, where well-wishers included former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin.

The day started with a mass prayer, with Soebandrio in the front row, to offer their gratitude to God for Soebandrio's freedom.

"I thank God, and President Soeharto for approving my clemency request. I'm now a free man," Soebandrio said later. "Last night was my first time to be with my wife again," he revealed.

"I have no big plans. All I want is to spend the rest of my life with my family. Pray for the hereafter," he added.

During a press conference before leaving the Cipinang correctional facility, both Soebandrio and Omar Dhani vowed not to return to politics. (imn/03)