Megawati to get second summons

JAKARTA (JP): The ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, will appear before the police investigating the recent riots once an amended summons has been issued, one of her lawyers said yesterday.

"The police will issue a second summons soon after they correct the old one. Nobody can refuse a police summons and Megawati will gladly and happily meet the summons," Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan from the Legal Aid Institute told reporters.

Megawati's seven-member legal team met police investigators for two hours at the Jakarta city police headquarters in response to a summons received by Megawati on Friday. The summons was issued in connection with the riots in Jakarta on July 27.

The lawyers were received by Lt. Col. Kamaluddin Lubis and Capt. Tugino of the City Police Investigation Department.

R.O. Tambunan, who led the legal team, said that Megawati had not appeared personally because the summons contained several flaws. He said it was unclear on who she would be expected to testify against, and there was no accompanying letter from President Soeharto endorsing the police request for her to answer questions.

Under Indonesian law, the police must have authorization from the President to question a member of the House of Representatives. Megawati is a House member for the PDI and a member of the People's Consultative Assembly.

There have been reports that Soeharto has given his assent to the summons, but Megawati's lawyers said this was not reflected in the police document.

Tambunan said that Megawati had received the summons on Friday. Although she legally had three days to respond to the summons, the police had only given her two days notice for questioning.

Pangaribuan said it was unclear when the police would issue the second summons.

A copy of the summons for Megawati, which was made available to The Jakarta Post, said that she was to be questioned in connection with crimes committed between June 17 and July 28 this year.

The crimes were related to the "free speech" forums which were held daily after Megawati was ousted by her PDI rival Soerjadi in a government-backed rebel congress. The forums at the party's headquarters drew huge enthusiastic crowds.

The government has accused Megawati supporters of using the free speech forums as a platform for anti-government propaganda.

Megawati has filed a lawsuit against the rebel congress committee, the new PDI central board and the government and the military for backing and facilitating the congress.

Tambunan said yesterday that the legal team also represented Aberson Marle Sihaloho, another PDI legislator, for similar police questioning.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna confirmed yesterday that the police would soon summon Megawati again.

"It is a common police investigation procedure. We'll give her three times to attend to our summons," Iman told reporters yesterday.

Asked if the police would force Megawati to appear if she refused to do so, Iman said: "Let's just wait and see."

Iman explained that Megawati was wanted for questioning "as an individual", not in her capacity as a member of the House of Representatives or as the chairperson of PDI.

He said that Megawati was to be questioned as a witness, not as a suspect. "We want to check her statements against the testimony of several people, currently under police interrogation, who claim to be her loyalists," Iman said.

"We need her to testify as a witness, not as a suspect," he said.

Iman said the police investigators would also question the new PDI chairman Soerjadi. (imn/bsr)

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