'PDI trial dossier fabricated, won't find those responsible'
'PDI trial dossier fabricated, won't find those responsible'
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Marked with protests from victims of an attack on the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in 1996, the trial
against the alleged attackers was once again adjourned on Monday
after the defendants' lawyers contended that the dossiers were
flawed.
Lawyers for the five defendants -- three civilians and two
military officers -- demanded that the court free them since the
dossiers failed to identify those responsible for the attack.
"Details in the dossier have merely been fabricated to cover
up the real truth of who was really responsible for the attack,"
said Berman Sitompul, one of civilian defendants' lawyers.
Berman claimed that the three civilian defendants -- Mochammad
Tanjung, Jonathan Marpaung Panahatan and Rahimmi Ilyas -- were
not involved in the attack that took place on July 27, 1996.
He said that rather than being the perpetrators of the attack,
the defendants were victims who were taken against their will to
the PDI office at Jl. Diponegoro 58, Central Jakarta.
"They were transported by truck to the crime scene and later
became involved in a clash. In fact, they sustained severe
injuries from stones pelted by the crowd," he said.
Besides the civilian defendants, the military defendants also
asked the court to release them, saying they were on duty upon
the orders of their superiors.
Yan Juanda, lawyer for two defendants from the military --
Col. (ret) Budi Purnomo and First Insp. Budi Purnomo -- said the
dossier was incomplete as it lacked authorization from their
military superiors, who participated in an investigation for the
case.
"Authorization from the military is necessary because both
defendants were military officers at the time. Without it this
court is not authorized to try them," he told a hearing at the
Central Jakarta District Court.
The July 27 incident occurred after then president Soeharto
outlawed public speeches given by opposition leaders at the PDI
headquarters. He then gave his blessings to Soerjadi -- who had
ousted Megawati Soekarnoputri as PDI chairperson in a government-
back congress -- to remove Megawati's supporters from the
headquarters with police and military support.
Dozens of PDI supporters reportedly died in the attack and
many others went missing.
A number of former military and police officials have been
questioned over the incident. They include former military chief
Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung, chief of military sociopolitical
affairs Syarwan Hamid, city police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata
and Jakarta Army Commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso, who is
presently Jakarta governor.
However, none of the military and police officials have ever
been brought to court for their alleged complicity in the attack.