Major responsible for abductions

JAKARTA (JP): Maj. Bambang Kristiono of the elite Army's Special Force (Kopassus) admitted on Tuesday he was responsible for the abductions of nine activists, an act he believed was in the national interest.

Bambang, 38, who holds the highest rank of the 11 Kopassus personnel put on trial for involvement in the abductions, told the Jakarta Military Court in East Jakarta he would "obey the court's verdict" and was "ready to take the consequences if proven guilty".

He also described feeling "betrayed" by the released activists going public with tales of their confinement.

Separately, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto told legislators on Monday that if the trial decided the defendants' superiors were involved, the Kopassus commander at the time of the abductions, Lt.Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, could be tried.

Prabowo, a son-in-law of former president Soeharto, is currently in Jordan.

Bambang, a former Kopassus battalion commander, said: "Based on the situation at that time, I felt that (abducting) those political activists was one way to safeguard the national interest." His confession was in line with the prosecution's contention that Bambang initiated measures to arrest "radical" activists.

Bambang added he used Kopassus funds for the operation.

"I was using the battalion's training fund to finance the operation and I was also using interest from the battalion's bank savings."

Bambang told of feeling betrayed after activists reneged on an understanding to keep silent after their release.

"I feel betrayed... because there was an agreement between us to maintain a good relationship and we even offered them jobs."

Several activists said they were threatened with death if they went public with their experiences.

The court is set to resume on March 9 to hear sentencing demands.

Bambang, who related he was assigned to a number of military operations in the trouble spots of East Timor and Aceh, said he set up a "Rose Team" within Kopassus in July 1997 to arrest "radical groups" suspected of plotting to sabotage the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in March last year.

"The team started to move after the bomb explosion in a housing complex in Demak (Central Java) in September 1997," Bambang said.

The military said at the time of the Demak explosion it had detained supporters of the East Timor separatist movement.

Asked more about his background, Bambang said he was sent by Kopassus to participate in military courses in New Zealand and Australia. He also studied human resources management at Sheffield University in England in 1994.

Bambang admitted he was involved in the abductions of Pius Lustrilanang, Desmon J. Mahesa, Haryanto Taslam, Feisol Reza, Raharjo Waluyo Djati, Aan Rusdianto, Nezar Patria, Mugianto and Andi Arief.

They were among 23 activists abducted by unidentified men beginning in April 1997. One has been found dead and 13 are still listed as missing. Those who resurfaced said they were tortured, which is not included in the prosecution's indictment.

Like the other defendants, Bambang said the nine were not tortured and denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of those missing.

Presiding judge Col. Susanto on Tuesday inspected two Kijang minivans, two jeeps and a sedan parked outside the court building. Military prosecutor Col. Harom Wijaya said the vehicles were used in the abductions.

Bambang, who was also involved in an expedition to Mount Everest in April 1997, said he reported the information gathered from the activists to his superior, Col. Chairawan. But he maintained he did not inform him of the operation or methods used to obtain the information.

Chairawan was released from active duty last August in connection with the abductions, along with then Special Force commander Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, and his predecessor Prabowo. Activists have derided the trial as a farce because the defendants' superiors are not implicated in the prosecution's case.

Outside the court, relatives of the missing activists pledged to bring the case to the International Court of Justice.

"This court is only used to justify the irresponsibility of the Armed Forces (ABRI) toward those who are still missing," said Tuti, the mother of missing activist Yani Avri. (byg)