Gen. (ret) Soemitro still in coma

JAKARTA (JP): Former chief of a now defunct internal security agency (Pangkopkamtib) Gen. (ret) Soemitro was still in a coma yesterday, two days after being hospitalized here for a stroke.

A doctor on duty at Mitra Kemayoran Hospital's Intensive Care Unit told The Jakarta Post that he could not give a prognosis on the 71-year-old retired general.

"He's still being evaluated," the doctor, who asked for anonymity, said when asked if it was true that Soemitro was suffering a serious brain hemorrhage.

His family and relatives could not be reached for comment yesterday. An aide in his home, when contacted by phone, said all family members were at the hospital.

The Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily yesterday quoted his son- in-law, Dadi Kartahadimadja, as saying that it was possible that the once very powerful general -- at one time dubbed "Indonesia's No. 2 man" -- was exhausted from attending too many seminars as a speaker.

"He is always in high spirits when speaking in front of young people, even though he faces criticism and arguments from them," he said.

Soemitro, the father of five children, is recognized as a sharp intellectual following his retirement from the military in 1974, soon after the bloody clampdown of a student protest on Jan. 15 of that year.

With his past experiences, Soemitro is also a very popular writer of nonfiction books.

His latest work, (Pangkopkamtib Jen. Soemitro dan Peristiwa 15 Januari 1974 (Chief of the Internal Security Agency and the Jan. 15, 1974 Incident), was published this year by Pustaka Sinar Harapan.

Soemitro was born in Probolinggo, East Java, on Jan. 13, 1927. (aan)