Panwaslu clears police in another poll bias case

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post/Medan

The North Sumatra Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said on Thursday -- after questioning only two of some 40 students witnesses -- that it would discontinue its investigation of the Medan Police over charges of partiality ahead of the election.

The committee refused to hear the testimonies of other students who attended a meeting on July 24, during which police allegedly asked them to back the incumbent, President Megawati Soekarnoputri in next month's runoff.

Panwaslu had earlier claimed that two students, identified only by their initials H and S, had gone missing after revealing the partiality case to the media, as they failed to answer its summonses.

However, the report was denied on Thursday by Safrizal, a member of the Indonesian Muslim Student Movement (PMII), who said the students did not flee, nor tried to evade Panwaslu's questioning.

"They are currently in Medan and in good shape. They were not the victims of intimidation," Safrizal told The Jakarta Post.

He said H and S were ready to comply with Panwaslu's summonses, should the committee call on other students who attended the meeting to testify.

"H and S will appear before Panwaslu members if they are summoned through an official letter, unlike the case so far, which has seen them summoned via cell phone calls," Safrizal added.

However, deputy chairman of the North Sumatra Panwaslu Jannes Hutahaen said it was too late for H and S to testify, arguing that the probe into the partiality case was already closed.

The committee no longer needed additional statements from witnesses after questioning on Monday Syamsuddin Tarigan and Oka Alam Syahputra, who were both at the meeting, he said.

Jannes said that based on the testimonies of Tarigan and Oka -- as well as Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Bagus and intelligence unit deputy chief Adj. Comr. I Gusti KB Harry Sara -- Panwaslu said the evidence was not enough to show that the Medan Police mobilized student support for the Megawati-Hasyim ticket.

Similarly, another Panwaslu member Yulhasni argued that his office had several times summoned H and S for questioning, but to no avail.

"If they want to testify, it's too late. The case is already closed," he said.

H and S had revealed that the July 24 meeting, organized by Megawati-Hasyim's campaign team member Arwin Harahap at the Garuda restaurant in Medan -- along with local police officers -- was designed to mobilize support for the President.

At the forum, according to H and S, police officers indirectly encouraged the 40 students there to vote for a civilian candidate.

Megawati is set to challenge her former chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired Army general who was the front-runner in the first round of the presidential election.

Sr. Comr. Andi Mapparesa was removed as Banyumas Police chief in Central Java, after he made a speech that appeared to be in support of Megawati's candidacy.

Questions were also asked of the Yogyakarta Police when thousands of T-shirts bearing Megawati's picture were found at police headquarters.