No evidence of rapes found: Govt

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto submitted a police report to a weekly cabinet meeting yesterday saying that police have investigated 103 reports of rape during the May riots but have yet to find evidence to support the claims.

"Police have investigated 103 cases, but have been unable to prove that any rapes took place," Minister of Information Mohammad Yunus quoted Wiranto as saying.

Wiranto also said 11 Taiwanese activists told him during a recent meeting that they too had been unable to find any evidence of rapes after checking directly at several places in Jakarta.

"During their visit to Indonesia they met with several people, including officials from the Taiwanese Consulate here and the State Minister of Women's Affairs, in search of evidence that the rapes took place, but they could not find any proof," Yunus quoted Wiranto as reporting.

Yunus said the police visited Mitra Bahari apartment in North Jakarta, where at least four rapes occurred according to a report prepared by Catholic priest Sandyawan Sumardi, who led the Volunteers for Humanity team investigating the riots.

"All the police investigation has uncovered is that the alleged victims were evacuated to Singkawang, Manado and Minahasa by Father Sandyawan and it is doubtful if any rapes actually took place," Yunus noted.

A report compiled by Samuel Budi, the priest at the Pentecostal Church in Jelambar, West Jakarta, was also found to be groundless.

"There are no members of the Jelambar Pentecostal Church congregation who were raped on May 13 or 14," Yunus said.

Public opinion has been split in two over reports of the gang- rape of 168 women of Chinese descent during the massive riots on May 13-15 in Jakarta and other cities.

One camp believes the atrocities did indeed take place and that given the nature of the crimes would be difficult to prove. Another camp has publicly cast doubt over the reports saying it is part of a smear-campaign against certain groups in Indonesia.

Also yesterday, former Jakarta military chief Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin became the first high ranked officer to testify before a government-initiated team investigating the riots, when security was allegedly non-existent.

The questioning was held at the residence of team member Bambang W. Soeharto in Cilandak, South Jakarta.

Dressed in a light green safari suit, the two-star general arrived at 8.55 a.m. and left at 11.35 a.m.

Bambang said Sjafrie was invited to respond to allegations that the security apparatus had actually been involved in the unrest.

Sjafrie was commander of the operation to maintain law and order in the capital at the time when the unrest broke out.

He said the team asked Sjafrie about basic security procedures in the city, including the movement of troops during the riots.

Vital places

"Pak Sjafrie said security personnel were concentrated in vital places such as the State Palace, the Armed Forces Headquarters, the state water company and business centers," he said.

Another team member, Bambang Widjojanto, said they started with reports that no security personnel were present at the scene of some of the worst rioting in the capital, which took place at the Glodok business center in West Jakarta.

According to Widjojanto, Sjafrie said 6,000 troops were deployed on May 12 when four Trisakti University students were shot dead by security officials during a demonstration.

"The number of troops deployed in the city was increased to 11,200 on the following day when most of the city was set ablaze in mass rioting. Their numbers reached 14,200 on May 14," he said.

Also attending yesterday's session were I Made Gel-gel, who is the deputy attorney general for general crimes, businesswoman Rosita S. Noer, and academics Saparinah Sadli and Hermawan Sulistyo.

The team will soon question Sjafrie's predecessor Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, who is now the Governor of Jakarta, and former Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata.

Later yesterday, Rosita said two victims of sexual abuse during the riots were ready to testify before authorities.

"The two have expressed their willingness and we expect after that others will also be coming to us everyday with new testimony," she said.

Separately, activists from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the questioning of Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin marked progress in the government's efforts to investigate the riots. (prb/imn/emf)