I'm ready to take the blame: Prabowo
JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto said yesterday he is ready to take responsibility for the kidnappings of political activists allegedly perpetrated by the Army's special force (Kopassus) early this year.
Prabowo, who was the commandant-general of the Army's crack force when the abductions occurred, broke his silence on the issue three days after the Armed Forces (ABRI) disclosed that Kopassus members were involved in the abductions.
"I refer to the statement by the ABRI commander who said that the matter was now being handled by the ABRI headquarters," Prabowo told reporters in Bandung, West Java, Antara said.
"I'm ready to take responsibility. But we have to wait for further developments. That is the only statement from me," he said after attending the closing ceremony of a regular course at the ABRI Staff and Command College which he now oversees.
Prabowo stressed, however, that all the tasks carried out by him and his subordinates when he commanded Kopassus were dedicated to the prosperity and safety of the nation.
He declined to comment on allegations that his men who were accused of the kidnappings have wrongly interpreted his orders. "That's what you say," he retorted to the persistent reporters.
Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Syamsu Djalal disclosed Tuesday that five Kopassus members have been detained and two others were under intensive investigation concerning allegations about their role in the kidnappings.
Antara has reported that the seven were a general, two colonels, a major, a captain, and two privates.
ABRI chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif has said that there appeared to be a "procedural error" when Kopassus members carried out orders from their superiors to look into the activities of radical groups in Indonesia.
Syamsu said that the soldiers exceeded their orders by kidnapping the activists.
The term "procedural error" in military tribunals in the past effectively absolved senior military commanders of any guilt committed by their soldiers.
Given the strong discipline that Kopassus is known for, Syamsu's claim raised many eyebrows, even from the corps itself.
Unprofessional
"I think it would be rare for anyone to miscarry or misinterpret his orders. In ABRI, any order must be carried out to the letter," said Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar, a former Kopassus commandant who is now governor of the National Resilience Institute.
"If that was what really happened, that was very unprofessional of them," Agum told reporters in Jakarta.
Human rights organizations have demanded that the ABRI investigation disclose who gave the orders, and what the specific orders were, to shed more light on the kidnappings.
Most of the abductions occurred in the run-up to and during the People's Consultative Assembly General Session in March.
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), an independent organization which has been looking into the matter, said 12 activists of the 24 reported missing are still not accounted for.
Those who have returned told of harrowing tortures known to be used by the military to extract incriminating statements against themselves or their colleagues.
Prabowo was virtually "forced" to speak to reporters who attended the ceremony for the rare opportunity to get close to the former commandant-general. The reporters pushed and shoved their way past his bodyguards before they could fire their questions at him, Antara said.
Prabowo, the son-in-law of former president Soeharto, was promoted in March from Kopassus to head the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).
But he was reassigned to his present post to head the ABRI college in Bandung by ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto on May 22, a day after Soeharto resigned from the presidency. (emb)