Prabowo's rejection of riot probe result 'no problem'

JAKARTA (JP): A member of the team which investigated riots that rocked the capital in May was unfazed by a rejection by former Army Special Force (Kopassus) commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto of his alleged involvement in the riots.

The Joint Fact-finding Team's Bambang W. Suharto said on Wednesday, "It does not matter if Prabowo rejects the reports," reported Antara news agency.

Bambang said that because the team had handed over its findings on the riots to the government last month, it was now the government's task to follow up the results of the investigation.

Bambang, also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said the team had worked hard to collect evidence and facts regarding the tragedy.

"Let him (Prabowo) lodge his objections because it's his right to do so," he said.

Prabowo sent a facsimile message from Jordan to the media here, denying reports of the kingdom of Jordan conferring honorary citizenship on him.

Prabowo added he was "disappointed and surprised" with the findings of the team, to whom, he said, he had given lengthy explanations on what he knew of the May riots.

"I am sure, the facts show that I struggled to calm the situation. I'm an Indonesian patriot. I have vowed to give priority to national interests..." Prabowo wrote.

"... I firmly reject the charges (of involvement in the riots)."

In the report announced on Nov. 4, the team linked the riots to an alleged conspiracy of various parties, including elements within the military, which it said was seeking to create an emergency situation justifying the invocation of "extraconstitutional powers".

The team urged the government to investigate a certain meeting at the headquarters of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command between Prabowo and several civilians, "to reveal and ascertain the role of Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto and other parties in the whole process which precipitated the riots."

The team concluded that then Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin should be held responsible for the allegedly nonexistent security during the riots.

Preparation of the report was reportedly marked by dissent among members, which consisted of representatives of the military, the Police, the National Commission on Human Rights and non-government organizations.

The government acknowledged recently the team's findings that 76 women were violated but said there were no indications of organized crime as suggested by the team.

Antara also quoted an e-mail, which it said Prabowo sent to the agency, stressing the responsibility of the Jakarta military command for the city's security. The agency quoted Prabowo as saying that his explanation repeated that which he gave to the team.

"Even though I was a three-star general, I did not have the right to order Pak Sjafrie," and only gave him frequent advice, he said.

"This has been the Armed Forces system and it has prevailed since I became a serviceman," he said.

He said that he knew nothing about the shooting of four University of Trisakti students on May 12 because he was in Bogor on that day.

He said he was informed about the incident only after Sjafrie contacted him by telephone.

Separately, Satjipto Rahardjo, a law expert from the Semarang- based University of Diponegoro, said that Prabowo, now in Jordan, should be brought home to facilitate investigations on the abduction of prodemocracy activists.

Antara reported he said in Semarang on Wednesday that Prabowo's presence at home has become more urgent after President B.J. Habibie ordered the relevant authorities early this week to investigate whether the former chief of the Army's elite force had a share in the abductions.

The Armed Forces' Military Police has yet to bring Prabowo to the Military High Court for his involvement in the abduction case. The trial began on Wednesday.

Prabowo, before the ABRI's honor council, admitted to having abducted nine prodemocracy activists, which led to his retirement from military service.

On the reports of the Jordan citizenship, Prabowo said he was very grateful for the offer of citizenship, citing his closeness to the family of King Hussein, but had turned the offer down because Indonesia does not recognize dual citizenship. On Thursday, Antara quoted a statement from the Jordan embassy here saying its interior ministry had no evidence that Prabowo had been granted Jordanian citizenship. (rms)