'Missing' activists give testimonies

JAKARTA (JP): After taking five days rest, four agrarian activists, who claim to have been abducted for two weeks, finally made their public appearances on Friday and gave their testimonies about the kidnapping.

Taking place at the office of the Indonesian Foundation of Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta, the four -- Anton Sulton, Idham Kurniawan, Usep Setiawan, and Muh. Hafiz Asdam -- disclosed their nightmarish experiences during a press conference.

Most of the activists, who were reported missing on Aug. 14 after staging a hunger strike at the legislators (MPR/DPR) building during its Annual Session, could not hold back tears while delivering their stories.

The activists from the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) were accompanied by YLBHI's Johnson Panjaitan and coordinator of the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munawarman.

"We were intercepted at about 9:30 p.m. after we had dinner at the basement of the Sogo shopping center. We were walking on our way to the KPA's office in Pejompongan area," Usep said in his testimony.

"I was walking with Anton while Idham and Asdam were behind us engaged in discussions on agrarian issues," he added.

Suddenly, said Usep, they were held up from behind with guns pointed at their waists.

"Don't do anything stupid or I'll shoot you," Usep quoted the culprit as saying.

"Anton and I were then taken into a (Toyota) Kijang van. I saw two people in the front seats," he said, while adding his neck was tied with rope.

They were taken into a room after a long journey where Usep was kept for three days during which time none of the crooks spoke to him.

"They just stored me. I was blindfolded and transferred to another room on the fourth day after a long journey," he said, while trying to fight back the tears.

"They violently asked questions about my activities in KPA. I lost my orientation at one point and then one day they moved me again after another journey," he added.

Usep said the kidnappers gave him an envelope of money and an airline ticket and dumped him in a bamboo forest.

"They opened the blindfold just before dropping me out of the car and I immediately ran away. I can't identify the car because it was dark," he said.

"When I opened the envelope, there was an airline ticket for a Yogyakarta-Jakarta 7:20 a.m. flight so I tried to find the Adi Sutjipto airport," he added.

Usep said the abductors didn't torture him but they pressed and threatened him over his activities.

"They accused me of promoting land seizure and obstructing the recovery of Indonesia's economy. They also threatened to kill me," he said.

"I can't reveal everything here because they also threatened the life of my family. I now ask the protection from the public," he said, while wiping his eyes.

Anton said he was very tired during the journey and was fed once a day while adding the culprits didn't do anything to him.

"The abductors told me that it was lucky enough for me to be alive. This made me afraid that my friends might be dead," he said.

The culprits then also gave Anton an envelope of money and an airline ticket before releasing him.

"I realized then that I was in Ahmad Yani airport in Semarang. It was my first flight," said Anton.

Asdam was crying from the very beginning of his testimony.

"I was blindfolded and threatened not to ask any questions. I felt my neck tied by rope which strangled me if I made even the slightest movement," he added.

Asdam failed to continue his testimony after breaking down into tears.

It seemed that Idham had the worst trauma during the abduction as he refused to give any testimony to reporters present at the occasion.

The four still refused to meet the police summons for questioning over the case. (nvn)