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)