Kontras upholds demand to find missing activists

Kontras upholds demand to find missing activists

JAKARTA (JP): The independent Commission for Missing Persons
and Victims of Violence (Kontras) kept up pressure on the Armed
Forces (ABRI) yesterday to find the 14 political activists who
are still missing.

"We believe the activists are still held by units under the
command of ABRI which might not have been exposed or have been
identified but have yet to be revealed," Kontras' coordinator
Munir told a media briefing at the Legal Aid Institute office in
Central Jakarta.

Munir said that ABRI should therefore immediately release the
activists or at least announce whether they were still alive or
not.

Munir called on the military prosecutors not to accept the
dossiers on 11 members of the Army's special force (Kopassus)
suspected of involvement in the abductions of political activists
until ABRI could explain the whereabouts of the 14 activists who
are still missing.

The military police investigators, led by Military Police
Corps. Commander Maj. Gen. Syamsu Djalal, have yet to complete
the dossiers.

Under pressure from the relatives of the missing activists,
Syamsu last week disclaimed any knowledge of the whereabouts of
the missing activists.

He said the team had visited Kopassus headquarters in
Cijantung, East Jakarta -- which was allegedly used as a
detention site for activists -- to search for the missing
activists, but did not find anyone.

Also last week, Syamsu revealed that members of the Jakarta
Military Command, the Armed Forces Intelligence Agency, the
National Police and the National Military Police might have also
been involved in the "process" of abductions.

Munir said the dossiers should not be submitted to the
military prosecutors before all suspects were questioned by the
fact-finding team.

Munir also said the team must immediately question former
Kopassus chiefs Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto and Maj. Gen. Muchdi
Purwopranjono, former Jakarta military commander Sjafrie
Sjamsoeddin, former ABRI commander Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung,
former police detective unit commander Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi and
former president Soeharto to verify their innocence in the
abductions.

Separately yesterday, Feisal reasserted his innocence in the
kidnappings, which occurred when he was ABRI commander.

"If there was an operation, there must be a report. An
operation must be reported and there was no report (of the
abductions)," Feisal, who is currently coordinating minister for
political affairs and security, told reporters before attending
the cabinet meeting on political affairs and security at the Bina
Graha presidential office.

When asked whether Soeharto was involved since he was ABRI's
supreme commander at the time, Feisal said: "The highest
commander is not involved in operations, all of the operations
are under the command of the ABRI commander, but I do not know if
there were special cases."

Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen.
Wiranto has said the abductions were only "procedural violations"
by the suspects as they went beyond their superior's instruction.

Human rights groups and activists who have reappeared after
being abducted have rejected Wiranto's statement. They believe
the abductions were perpetrated by several units and part of a
systematic operation.

Meanwhile, Wiranto said yesterday he would soon announce the
members of the honorary military council to try those already
charged with the abductions. (byg/prb)