Megawati supporters protest office handover

Megawati supporters protest office handover

JAKARTA (JP): Supporters of the ousted Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, protested
yesterday the handover of the party's headquarters to the state,
saying it would hamper a police probe into the July 27 riots.

Alex Litaay, secretary-general of Megawati's executive board,
told a press conference at Megawati's home last night that the
handover was illegal because no court had handed down a verdict
on the building's status after the riots which left five people
dead and 23 reportedly missing.

Central Jakarta Police gave the damaged headquarters to the
State Secretariat on Thursday for renovation, which is expected
to be completed within two months.

"The handover will obscure evidence concerning the forced
takeover of the building (by the government-backed rebel group
under Soerjadi)," Alex said.

Megawati was visiting her colleague Aberson Marle Sihaloho,
who will stand trial next week for defaming the President, when
Alex met the press.

The riots were triggered by a brutal takeover of the building
by supporters of Soerjadi, who regained the party's chair after a
government-recognized rebel congress in Medan last June.

No Soerjadi supporters were arrested after the riots, but 115
Megawati supporters were tried for resisting a police order.

Alex said the police's decision offended the public's sense of
justice: "This clearly proves that the police did not have the
courage to professionally investigate the case."

Chief of the Central Jakarta Police, Lt. Col. M. Ibrahim, said
earlier that the handover of the PDI headquarters marked the end
of investigations into the takeover and subsequent riots.

Alex said the police had disobeyed a recommendation of the
National Commission on Human Rights that the building should
remain status quo pending a court ruling. (35/amd)