RI activists not to be prosecuted, envoy says

RI activists not to be prosecuted, envoy says

JAKARTA (JP): The three Indonesians currently detained by
Myanmar for allegedly distributing antigovernment leaflets will
not be prosecuted, Indonesia's Ambassador in Yangon Poerwanto
Lenggono said yesterday.

"I guarantee they will not be charged," he told The Jakarta
Post by phone from Myanmar's capital.

However, Poerwanto said it was still unknown when the
activists -- R. Fadjri, Sulaiman Haikal and Christian Evert --
would be released.

He said Myanmar police were "already through" interrogating
the activists, but the "overall" interrogation was still
continuing as some of the 15 others who were detained with them
had been "uncooperative".

Poerwanto refused to elaborate further.

On Sunday, 18 foreign activists were arrested by local police
for distributing in several tourists spots in Myanmar printed
materials with messages urging the remembrance of the Aug. 6,
1988 bloody incident.

"They (Indonesian activists) admitted that they were just
following along to Myanmar, to participate in the goodwill
message program." he said of the activists' testimonies.

The activists, according to Poerwanto, also admitted they were
afraid when first detained by the police, but were now in good
spirits.

Fadjri, a correspondent of The Jakarta Post and D&R magazine
in Yogyakarta, together with Sulaiman and Christian of the PIJAR
non-governmental organization, were in Myanmar on the invitation
of the Bangkok-based Altsean-Burma, a group concerned with
promoting democracy in the military-ruled Myanmar.

In order to make it easier for the activists to contact their
families and relatives in Indonesia, Poerwanto said he had lent
the activists his mobile phone.

He had also called all the activists' families to ensure them
that they were being well taken care of by the embassy. "I have
promised them that I will protect them," Poerwanto said. (aan)