Group of youths seeks Soerjadi's arrest

JAKARTA (JP): A group in support of the deposed leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, called for the arrest of Soerjadi yesterday for alleged involvement in the takeover of the party's headquarters on July 27 last year.

The group of a dozen young men demonstrated outside the front gates of the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta.

They carried a banner saying "Take Soerjadi to court, it's the constitutional way!", and chanted "Megawati will surely win" and "Viva Megawati".

The group, which included university students, tried to meet Attorney General Singgih, but security guards closed the gates as they approached the building.

The intelligence coordination chief at the General Attorney's Office, Zainudin Janisa, took the group's statement and said he would forward it to his superiors.

During the demonstration, Zainudin signaled for the group and Indonesian and foreign reporters to move away from the gate so as not to prevent staff and visitors entering Singgih's office.

"There are procedures for airing grievances, not just taking to the streets in protest and blocking entrances to buildings, disrupting everyday activities. It takes more than one day to solve problems," Zainudin said.

A member of the group, Robert Mandilawe, said that Soerjadi should be tried "as soon as possible".

In the Central Jakarta District Court Monday it was alleged in a writ that Soerjadi had promised to pay Rp 200 million in cash to 51 people he hired to raid the PDI headquarters.

The 51 plaintiffs are suing Soerjadi for failure of payment. They have also filed a report with the National Commission on Human Rights.

During the July 27 incident, hundreds of supposed Soerjadi supporters backed by security personnel took over the headquarters, sparking a riot which claimed five lives, injured 124 and left 23 missing, according to the rights commission.

On Tuesday, Soerjadi admitted to having discussed possible security deals with the leader of the group of plaintiffs, Seno Bella Emyus, but he denied that the deals related to hiring people to seize the PDI headquarters.

Soerjadi said Bella had offered to mobilize about 40,000 people to demonstrate support for him and had offered him security for his daughter's wedding at his home in South Jakarta, a month after the takeover of the headquarters.

"I rejected his two offers," Soerjadi said.

Robert told reporters yesterday that the government should take legal action against Soerjadi so as to restore public faith in the general election.

"Otherwise, we as supporters of Megawati will not honor the results of the general election, regardless of the form they assume," he said. (01)