No evidence of rapes found: Govt

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)