Panggabean denies 'Supersemar' claim
JAKARTA (JP): Gen. (ret.) Maraden Panggabean has denied the account of a former adjutant of Sukarno that he forced the founding president at gunpoint to relinquish power to the then minister of the Army, Lt. Gen. Soeharto, subsequently the country's second president.
Panggabean said it was untrue that he and Maj. Gen. Basuki Rachmat coerced Sukarno to sign the historic March 11, 1966, letter, known as Supersemar, which gave Soeharto the power to restore order following the communist party's abortive coup on Sept. 30, 1965. Both Sukarno and Basuki are deceased.
"With this media briefing, I want to insist that the story told by the ex-serviceman (Soekardjo Wilardjito) contains no truth," he said.
In an account quoted by several newspapers, 71-year-old Soekardjo claimed he saw Panggabean and Basuki draw and cock FN 46 pistols, aiming them at Sukarno's chest.
Panggabean, former deputy Army chief, contended he was not even present at the Bogor Presidential Palace when the document was signed, but resting at Army Headquarters.
Contemporary accounts said the document was brought by Basuki, Amir Machmud, now also deceased, and Gen. M. Jusuf for Sukarno to sign in Bogor. The present whereabouts of the document is unknown.
With the letter, Sukarno gave a mandate to Soeharto to take necessary action to restore order, coordinate with Navy and Air Force commanders and report to the president.
Panggabean branded Soekardjo, who claimed he witnessed the signing because he was Sukarno's bodyguard, a liar.
"How could he make up such a story? It was said that Basuki and I cocked pistols and aimed at Bung Karno's head (sic). How could it be since I was not at the Bogor palace at that time. Soekardjo must have diseased eyes," he said.
"It is strange that a junior officer could not identify between General Panggabean, Jusuf, Basuki and Amir Machmud. So, to me, Soekardjo's testimony is an outrageous lie."
Panggabean, also former ABRI commander and minister of defense and security, suggested that Jusuf -- the sole survivor of the three officers who brought the letter to Sukarno -- should give a complete and transparent explanation of what transpired.
Many regard the letter's issuance as a bloodless coup against the Sukarno government.
Soekardjo, who asked for legal protection from the Legal Aid Institute in Yogyakarta on Tuesday, said he was jailed without trial just minutes after the letter was signed.
He was imprisoned in numerous penitentiaries from 1966 to 1977.
In his account of the signing, he said he was on duty when the four generals arrived at the palace carrying a light red folder and demanded to see Sukarno. (imn/lem/rms)