Pakpahan seeks cure overseas

Pakpahan seeks cure overseas

JAKARTA (JP): Jailed labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan is seeking
permission to go abroad for medical treatment for a growth in his
lungs, his lawyer said yesterday.

Munir, who is affiliated with the Indonesian Legal Aid
Foundation, said he had sent a letter to the minister of justice
on Monday requesting Pakpahan's permission to go abroad.

He said he was waiting for a reply from the ministry.

Pakpahan, the leader of the unrecognized Indonesian Prosperous
Labor Union, is being tried for subversion. He is accused of
making antigovernment remarks, undermining the authorities and
sowing public hatred against the government in his speeches last
year.

On March 1 he was admitted to the Cikini Hospital in Central
Jakarta, four days after he yelled at a judge in court for
ignoring his deteriorating health.

Pakpahan had a biopsy yesterday at Dharmais Cancer Hospital in
West Jakarta.

On March 18, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John
Shattuck visited him during a fact-finding mission on human
rights.

A source said Shattuck told Pakpahan to seek treatment in the
U.S. "The people and government of the United States ask you to
come for treatment in our country," the source quoted Shattuck as
saying.

The source said he could also try seeking treatment in the
Netherlands or Singapore. (05)