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)