Muchtar Pakpahan admits involvement in street rally

JAKARTA (JP): From his hospital room, labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan has admitted that he distributed a letter urging nationwide protests during the just concluded General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Pakpahan's lawyer Bambang Widjojanto said the ailing labor leader had been questioned yesterday at Cikini Hospital, where he was being treated for a lung tumor.

Pakpahan was questioned for more than two hours.

Bambang said the session was conducted in a amiable atmosphere with about 18 questions being raised by the police.

"There were three police officers questioning Pakpahan," Bambang said, identifying them as Capt. Aris Munandar, First Lt. Mudjiyono and Sgt. Maj. H.L. Tobing.

The police were quoted by Bambang as saying that there would be no further questioning of Pakpahan.

Pakpahan, the leader of the unrecognized Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, is currently serving a four-year jail term after being found guilty of inciting labor unrest in Medan, North Sumatra, in 1994.

Pakpahan is also being tried for subversion in relation to riots here in July 1996.

During yesterday's questioning, Pakpahan admitted that he had circulated the letter which resulted in Monday's rally on Jl. MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta. Four participating labor activists were arrested by police.

Pakpahan's letter, dated March 6, urged employees, workers and sympathizers to hold a mass rally and march on the House of Representatives building where the Assembly convened.

Among the places where people were told to assemble was in front of Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta.

Besides protesting against the soaring prices of basic commodities and demanding the increase of workers' wages, the rally also urged the government to prevent layoffs, abolish corruption, collusion, nepotism and monopoly practices.

They also called for the release of Pakpahan.

"But, the rally was actually carried out because we were disappointed with the General Session as it did not seriously deliberate the people's hardship," Pakpahan was quoted by Bambang as saying.

Authorities had forbidden all mass gatherings and street rallies one week before and after the 11-day General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly which ended Wednesday.

Pakpahan had also expressed his disappointment with President's Soeharto's accountability speech which he said neglected labor problems over the past five years.

He said the account gave neither a substantive portrayal of the nationwide labor strife nor any guidelines for the campaign to improve workers' welfare. (byg)