Govt confirms validaty of Prabowo discharge
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)