PDI-P wants govt to speed up probe on July 27 case

PDI-P wants govt to speed up probe on July 27 case

JAKARTA (JP): City councillors of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) want the government to
immediately resume a probe into the July 27, 1996 forcible
takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post by phone on Sunday, they
emphasized finding justice instead of using a political vendetta,
especially toward Governor Sutiyoso.

Councillor Ugiek Soegihardjo said his party had repeatedly
urged the government to soon bring the dossiers to court in order
to ascertain legal certainty on those involved in bloody attack
four years ago.

"The sooner they bring the dossiers to the court, the better.
Only then will we have legal certainty," he said, adding that he
denied his party would use Sutiyoso's alleged role to topple the
governor.

"It's important here to separate Sutiyoso's position as then
city military commander and as governor. We can't mix them up as
we have to be objective. There has as yet been no legal decision
on his alleged involvement in the bloodshed," he added.

Sutiyoso, a retired Army lieutenant general, was the Jakarta
Military commander when the takeover occurred following a discord
between the camps of then ousted party chairwoman Megawati
Soekarnoputri and rival Soerjadi, who received strong support
from the government at the time.

Many groups of residents have demanded that Sutiyoso step down
from his current post over his alleged role in the crime. The
governor recently faced another painful attack when his
accountability speech was rejected by the City Council.

But Ugiek vowed that PDI Perjuangan would not mix up the
cases.

"I was mobbed by soldiers of the Army Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad) in the Gambir incident (hours after the attack
at the headquarters). My head was bleeding.

"But we, the victims, won't take any revenge of any sort," he
added.

Aziz Boeang, from the same party, questioned the slow pace of
the joint investigation team probing the case, possibly due to
new personnel.

"If it's up to me, the joint team can use the existing police
dossiers as a guide, instead of conducting new investigations
from the beginning," he added.

Separately, a lawyer of Sutiyoso, Indra Sahnun Lubis, said on
Sunday he rejected the joint investigation team's plan to
question the governor as a suspect in the case.

"We'll send our objection to the team if Pak Sutiyoso is to be
summoned and investigated as a suspect. We are in no position to
obstruct the investigation," Indra told satunet.com.

"But we'll send the objection letter first, before we answer
the summons," he added.

The National Police investigated the governor in May and
declared him a witness instead of a suspect, as had been demanded
by many of the victims and political activists.

Sutiyoso admitted he was at the location during the takeover.

"I went to the vicinity of the takeover after I got reports
from my officers that the situation was getting worse," the
governor told reporters after the investigation earlier in May.

"It was my duty as a military commander to check any reports
received from my staff," he added.

Sutiyoso has repeatedly told reporters he would follow any
decisions made regarding the law.

"I'll just follow the legal procedures," he said.

Dozens of Megawati-led PDI loyalists were believed to have
been killed in the attack, which later ignited riots in several
areas in the capital. (nvn)