Officer testifies students insulted Soeharto

Officer testifies students insulted Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): A police officer testified in a defamation trial
yesterday that the poems read by students during a protest
against the government last December contained strong words which
attacked the President's integrity.

Made Kamaraman, an officer at the Central Jakarta police
precinct, identified four defendants, Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Adi
Kurniawan, Masduki and Hendrik Dikson Sirait, as the students who
took turns reading the poems during the Dec. 14 anti-government
demonstration at the House of Representatives (DPR).

Made told the Central Jakarta District Court that the
defendants insulted Soeharto through the poems they read.
According to Made, they delivered the readings in front of the
banners displayed by the other students during the protest which
carried statements which strongly criticized the President.

Made told the court that he was present at the House compound
on that date to videotape the demonstration. "We videotape any
demonstrations for our records," he said.

The defendants and their lawyers rejected Made's testimony
saying that they contradict previous statements he made before
the court and the police.

Made said he remembered some verses of the poems.

However in the dossiers sent before the investigators, the
witness said that although he did not remember any of the verses,
he concluded that the poems discredited the President.

The witness was also attacked by the lawyers for insisting
that the demonstrators were arrested by the police.

The defendants and their lawyers claimed that the arrest was
made by the military.

Yeni and Hendrik told the court at an earlier session that the
poems they read during the demonstration were written by noted
poet W.S Rendra, whose works have been made public.

The four are among the 21 students being tried on charges of
defaming the President, an offense punishable by up to six years
in prison. They are being prosecuted in groups of four, six and
eleven, depending on the degree of their crimes.

The students, along with about 100 other colleagues, took part
in the protest demanding a special session by the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) to review Soeharto's accountability
for a series of violent incidents involving security officers and
civilians.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing the students in the group of
six asked the court's permission to present 16 witnesses who
would testify in favor of the defendants.

All the prosecutor's witnesses have appeared in the court.

Among the noted figures asked by the lawyers to testify are
legislator Sabam Sirait, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, and
scholars Arbi Sanit and F.V Frans Magnis Suseno.

The panel of judges presided over by Partoso, however, did not
reach any agreement yesterday on who should appear on the next
trial. The judges are scheduled to make their decision tomorrow.

"We have to be serious in handling the case of these young
people. We don't want to make mistakes," Partoso explained.

Also at the same trial, Supardi, an officer at the Central
Jakarta Police Precinct, said that the six defendants had taken
part in the demonstration by unfurling the two banners attacking
the President. One of the banners read "Drag the President to
MPR's extraordinary assembly", said the witness. (par)