Pictures prove nothing, Sri Bintang and lawyer say

Pictures prove nothing, Sri Bintang and lawyer say

JAKARTA (JP): As Sri Bintang Pamungkas plays down the pictures
that were taken of him among demonstrators in Germany, the police
plan to carry through with their plans to use the photos as
evidence of his involvement in the anti-Indonesian government
protest last April.

The former legislator, who is suspected of taking part in
demonstrations held to coincide with President Soeharto's visit
to Germany, said the photographs "did not prove anything".

He admitted to having had his pictures taken during his stay
in Hannover, where one demonstration took place, but could not
recall the particular pictures now in the hands of the police.

"Those pictures are not in my collection, and I don't remember
posing in such a way," he told The Jakarta Post. "I don't know
who took them and who gave them to the police."

"I would believe the pictures were really of me if a friend or
someone I knew gave them to me," he said Wednesday.

One of the pictures, published in Gatra magazine, showed
Bintang standing in front of a banner with messages in German
held by two protesters. Another is of Bintang and Yeni Rosa
Damayanti, a young activist who was also allegedly involved in
the protests, holding a poster with a picture of President
Soeharto.

Bintang also admitted to having his pictures taken with Yenni
as well as a number of other Germans. "I was interviewed by Radio
Hilversum there, too, and had my pictures taken with Yenni, but
whether in such a pose, I don't remember," he said.

Both Bintang and one of his lawyers, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan,
would not theorize as to whether the pictures had been
manipulated.

"I'm not saying the picture has been manipulated, but legally
they don't prove anything," Luhut said.

"We don't know for sure whether the pictures were taken in a
place where a suspected crime was occurring, or whether Bintang
was really there... but yes, there's technology to engineer
pictures," he said.

Bintang again stated his readiness to ride out the charges
against him.

"We'll just see what else the police will come up with," he
said. "They can bring up any evidence they want to, dig up
anything, I'm not scared."

Bintang has explained that although he watched a demonstration
in Hannover, but he never went to Dresden where another
demonstration occurred. "I watched the demonstration because I
considered it a free show," he said. (swe)