Government trims jail terms of Xanana, Budiman

Government trims jail terms of Xanana, Budiman

JAKARTA (JP): The government granted on Tuesday short
remissions to jailed East Timorese leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana"
Gusmao and chairman of the left-leaning Democratic People's Party
(PRD) Budiman Soedjatmiko, Antara said.

The head of Cipinang prison, Subari, said Xanana's 20-year
sentence was reduced by five months while Budiman had his term
reduced by three months.

The two were among 17,361 prisoners who were freed or given
reduced sentences to mark the country's 54th Independence Day on
Tuesday.

Subari, speaking at a flag-raising ceremony at the prison in
East Jakarta, said 13 prisoners were released after completing
their terms and 53 others were released by remission.

"As a (former) Cipinang inhabitant I'm happy to get the five-
month remission," Xanana, the head of the National Resistance
Council for an Independent East Timor (CNRT), was quoted as
saying by the news agency.

Xanana was initially sentenced to life imprisonment in 1993
for armed rebellion against the state. The sentence was later
commuted to 20 years by former president Soeharto.

The rebel leader was held in Cipinang for five years and
transferred to a special detention house in Central Jakarta in
February, under international pressure and in the hope he would
be able to participate in finding a permanent solution for East
Timor.

International calls for his release have mounted since
Indonesia agreed in May to hold a referendum on self-
determination in the troubled territory.

Budiman, whose party contested the June 7 elections, was
sentenced to 13 years in jail in 1997 by the Soeharto regime for
his alleged involvement in a 1996 riot in Jakarta.

President B.J. Habibie, Soeharto's protege and handpicked
successor, offered to pardon him earlier this year, but Budiman
rejected it on the grounds he was not guilty of any
crime. (41/byg)