Police deny charging Megawati as suspect
Police deny charging Megawati as suspect
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Police denied on Thursday that they had charged
Megawati Soekarnoputri, the leader of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and the party's secretary-general,
Pramono Anung, as suspects in a criminal defamation case.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko D.A. told
reporters that the police had never charged Megawati, who is a
former president of the country, or Pramono Anung as suspects as
had earlier been reported by a number of media outlets.
"We did receive a report from pak Roy about his good name
being impugned by these two people, but so far the police are
still investigating the matter," Soenarko said, referring to Roy
B.B. Janis, a former party executive who reported the alleged
defamation, together with 10 of his colleagues, to the police.
Soenarko said that police investigators had so far only
questioned one witness -- Roy B.B. Janis himself -- so it was not
possible for them to charge any suspects before questioning other
party members, including Megawati and Pramono.
On May 16 this year, Roy B.B. Janis, along with 10 other
former party members including Sophan Sophiaan, Sukowaluyo
Mintohardjo, Arifin Panigoro and Laksamana Sukardi, reported
Megawati and Pramono to National Police Headquarters for
defamation arising out of their dismissal from the party without
being given specific reasons -- something that they said
adversely impinged on their reputations.
Roy, a member of the House of Representatives, also said that
the PDI-P congress held in Bali last March violated the party's
statutes as many of the participants had been intimidated and
denied their rights to vote during the event.
The dismissed party members then started a national campaign
complaining about what they said were undemocratic processes
employed during the congress, and complained directly to the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. The Bali congress
unanimously reelected Megawati as party leader and named Pramono
Anung Wibowo secretary-general.
"The complaint was signed by pak Roy and 10 other persons. We
haven't even started questioning the other ten yet," Soenarko
added.
Despite Soenarko's denial, Megawati and Pramono were clearly
stated to be suspects in a letter issued by the police on Monday
requesting Roy to visit National Police Headquarters to provide
more details on the case.
The letter, No. 901/VII/2005, was issued by the Directorate of
Transnational Security at National Police Headquarters and was
signed by an officer named Sr. Comr. Noer Ali.
When asked about the letter, Soenarko said that he had already
checked their status with Director of the Transnational Security
Brig. Gen. Pranowo Dahlan.
It is unclear whether the confusion is due to a genuine police
mistake in the letter or whether it is connected with Megawati's
influence among top-ranking officers.