Freed men want name cleared

BANDUNG: Two former political prisoners released by the government this week say they hold grudges against the government and are demanding that their good name be restored, Antara said.

Asep Ilyas and Abdul Muis said they also planned to write to President B.J. Habibie demanding the release of their colleagues, who were convicted along with them for their alleged role in a riot in Tasikmalaya, West Java, in December 1996.

The men said the amnesty from Habibie should not be regarded as a gesture of a kind heart but more as an attempt to correct miscarriage of justice.

Several others who were serving jail terms along with them in Tasikmalaya penitentiary were not among the 50 released by the government this week. (emb)