Moerdani quits session early due to ill health

JAKARTA (JP): A frail-looking Gen.(ret) LB Moerdani was given permission to leave his questioning session at the Attorney General's Office on Friday after the former minister of defense/armed forces chief could not comprehend investigators' questions on the 1984 Tanjung Priok case.

Moerdani's lawyer Lt. Col. Purnomo said that after four hours Moerdani had only managed to respond to three questions before requesting permission to retire from the session.

The Attorney General's Office summoned Moerdani as a witness in connection with the 1984 case, at which time he was the Armed Forces Chief.

Purnomo said Moerdani often could not grasp the main point of the questions posed to him by the investigation team, making the exchange between them incomprehensible.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Muljohardjo confirmed that Moerdani left the examination due to frail health.

"We believe the questioning of Moerdani was sufficient on this occasion," he told The Jakarta Post.

Moerdani, who came to the Attorney General's Office accompanied by his lawyers from the Indonesian Army's legal affairs department did not speak to reporters as he was wheeled away in a wheelchair to his car.

The Attorney General's Office on Friday also summoned former vice president Gen.(ret) Try Sutrisno and Maj. Gen. Butarbutar, who were Jakarta Military Commander and the North Jakarta Military District Chief respectively at that time.

The New Order government claimed that the Sept. 12, 1984 clash in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, was caused following provocative lectures at the Rawa Badak Mosque by preachers criticizing the government.

The government took tough measures on these activities which resulted in a violent clash.

The National Commission on Human Rights said in a report that there were 33 known fatalities in the incident, including 14 people whose identities remain unknown.(04)