Soemitro still in critical condition

Soemitro still in critical condition

JAKARTA (JP): The former chief of defunct internal security
agency Pangkopkamtib, Gen. (ret) Soemitro, was still unconscious
and in critical condition last night after suffering a stroke
Friday.

"Father is still in a critical condition... There is still no
sign that he is regaining consciousness," his daughter, Mely
Kartahadimadja, told The Jakarta Post when contacted by phone
yesterday.

She said Friday's stroke was the third suffered by the
general. The stroke caused serious hemorrhaging in the brain,
resulting in a coma.

"He is still hemorrhaging," she told the Post from the Mitra
Kemayoran hospital where the 71-year-old general is being
treated.

Mely said a team of doctors planned to drain the excess fluid
from Soemitro's head.

According to Mely, since being admitted into the hospital,
many noted public figures such as President Soeharto, Vice
President B.J Habibie, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sayidiman Suryohadiprodjo,
and Lt. Gen. (ret.) Hasnan Habib had visited her father.

Soemitro, father of five, became known as a sharp intellectual
after he retired from the military in 1974 soon after a bloody
clamp down on a student protest on Jan. 15.

He was born in Purbolinggo, East Java, on Jan. 13, 1927.

"Please pray for his speedy recovery," Mely said before ending
the conversation. (aan)