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)