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)