Prabowo makes secret visit to capital

JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, the disgraced former chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), left Jakarta on Thursday after a brief and highly secretive visit here, his friends said on Thursday.

"He left early this morning," Fadlizon, one of Prabowo's closest friends, told The Jakarta Post.

Fadlizon said Prabowo, who has lived in exile shortly after he was discharged from the military in August 1998, came here some three days ago to visit his son and meet with some of his friends.

Media Indonesia daily reported on Thursday that Prabowo met with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto and the Kostrad chief, Lt. Gen. Djadja Suparman, on Monday night.

Prabowo left for Kuala Lumpur before heading to Singapore, where his father, noted economist Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, was being treated for illness. He would then return to Amman, Jordan, where he lives and runs a business, he said.

Prabowo's other close friend, Farid Prawiranegara, said his visit to Jakarta was highly unexpected.

"I met him last around Dec. 26 in Singapore when he was visiting his father," Farid told the Post by phone from his base in Australia.

"At the time, we talked about the possibility of him visiting Jakarta and whether the political situation was safe for it. But I had no idea that it would be this soon," he said.

During his visit to Jakarta, Prabowo stayed in different places, including his wife Siti Hedianti Subianto's house in Central Jakarta, his brother Hashim Djodjohadikusumo's house and one of his friends' house, Farid said.

Farid said many people, both civilians and in the military, sympathized with him.

Prabowo has been based in Amman, Jordan, since he was discharged from the military, following an inquiry which revealed his involvement in the abduction of student activists. (das)