Govt confirms validaty of Prabowo discharge
JAKARTA (JP): The government insisted yesterday Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto's dismissal from the military was valid as government critics expressed their disappointment over the administrative sanction.
The critics also slammed Minister of Defense/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto for not explaining the grounds for his decision to dismiss Prabowo from the military, rather than court-martialling him for his apparent involvement in the abduction and torture of political activists.
Minister of Justice Muladi said yesterday, from the legal point of view, Prabowo's dismissal was valid even though it was decreed by Wiranto rather than President B.J. Habibie.
He said both the President, in his capacity as ABRI supreme commander, and the ABRI commander had the same authority to impose such sanctions.
The administrative sanctions imposed on Prabowo and Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, both former commandants-general of the Army Special Force (Kopassus) and Col. Chairawan, former chief of Kopassus' Group IV for intelligence, have drawn mixed reactions from the public.
Wiranto announced the dismissal Monday, when he also decreed that Muchdi and Chairawan would no longer hold any positions in the Armed Forces. He said the decision was based on the recommendation from the Officers Honor Council which investigated the three men.
Wiranto also acknowledged that the three could also be brought before a military tribunal if damning evidence against them was found in the forthcoming trials of 11 Kopassus soldiers who were allegedly directly involved in the abduction and torture of political activists.
"Wait and see and let ABRI make its own decision," Muladi said.
A member of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) complained yesterday that Wiranto's recent announcement was unclear and incomplete.
"Wiranto didn't disclose thoroughly what mistakes the three officers committed and what factors led the ABRI leadership to make such a decision," Sirra Prayuna said.
Wiranto failed to mention the mistakes or how far the three were involved in the abduction and torture of the activists, Sirra said.
He also pointed out that the obscurity would slow his organization's efforts to disclose the fate of the remaining 14 missing people.
"We hope ABRI would be more transparent about the Officers Honor Council's investigation into the three officers," he said.
Sirra said it would no longer do for ABRI to continue telling the public that it knew nothing about the whereabouts of the activists.
Amien Rais, the chairman of the newly established National Mandate Party, speculated Tuesday about an underhand deal made by ABRI leaders and the three officers to cover up the full story of the abductions.
"What we want is a comprehensive and transparent explanation from ABRI about the activists' abductions, the May riots and the students' shooting at Trisakti University," he said,
He pointed out how the public was disappointed with Wiranto's announcement on the sanctions against the three officers. He said a decision taken without explaining its grounds or preliminary considerations would not educate the public about the truth behind the abductions.
"The authorities should now conduct a thorough investigation to reveal who should be held responsible for the abductions and riots," he said. (emf/rms)