Student comes face-to-face with 'recruiter'

Student comes face-to-face with 'recruiter'

JAKARTA (JP): A military officer on Thursday challenged
directly the student who claims he was forced to become an
informer by him.

Media were allowed to attend the face-to-face meeting of
second private Budi Leksono, a military police officer in the
presidential guard unit, with student Wiwid Pratiwo at military
police headquarters.

Presiding was National Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri
Marin, with military police investigators and parents of both
Wiwid and Budi in attendance. Wiwid refused to greet Budi despite
encouragement from others in attendance.

Both were earlier questioned separately by the investigators.
The meeting confirmed they knew each other, but Budi denied that
he recruited Wiwid.

"I never imagined Wiwid would do something like this," Budi
said. "I came to regard him as my younger brother."

Budi has deserted from the presidential guard unit on four
occasions, military police said.

Wiwid said he had 20 witnesses to back up his claims, but did
not elaborate. He said there were many informers but they were
prevented from contacting each other.

Wiwid, who has identified himself as a Trisakti University
student, was apprehended last month by students suspicious of his
activities. He claimed at the time he was coerced by someone he
called "BL" into becoming an informer. BL had threatened his
family if he refused, he said.

Trisakti said Budi was only enrolled for one term in 1996 to
1997.

He also claimed he was warned several hours in advance of the
shooting near the Semanggi cloverleaf on Nov. 13. He said he
received a message through a pager provided by BL that
"everybody" near Atma Jaya university should leave because a
"shooting spree" would occur.

Clashes in Jakarta between students and security personnel --
which claimed 16 lives and left more than 400 injured -- took
place on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 amid student protests against the
Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

On Nov. 25, military police showed Wiwid several photographs
of officers with the initials BL. He picked out Budi Leksono.

Budi denied giving Wiwid the pager.

"The pager belongs to Wiwid and I have never given him one,"
Budi said. "I come from a low-income family. I cannot afford to
buy such an expensive pager."

Both Wiwid and Budi also differed on the ownership of a kris,
which the former had presented along with the pager as evidence
of their relationship.

"The kris was given by Second Pvt. Budi Leksono to me," Wiwid
said. Wiwid said the kris was a talisman to protect him.

While they differed on the time when they met for the first
time, Wiwid and Budi agreed on the place.

"I met Second Pvt. Budi Leksono at 12 p.m. at a bus shelter
somewhere near Hotel Indonesia," Wiwid said, claiming he was
mistaken when he earlier related they met in Tomang, West
Jakarta.

"I met Wiwid at 2 p.m. at a bus shelter in front of Jl.
Martapura in Central Jakarta," Budi said. They agreed the meeting
occurred in July.

Wiwid reiterated his earlier testimony that he was assigned to
recruit civilian guards and monitor universities to gather
information on student movements.

Prior to the Special Session, he was sent on assignment to
several towns in Java to recruit civilian guards using four Army
military trucks. He said he returned with 160 people and took
them to Cijantung, East Jakarta.

An officer in charge of vehicles of the presidential guard
unit denied Wiwid's claim he used the vehicles.

Wiwid could not specify the exact place, but said he had
visited the shopping mall belonging to the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus). He had said he was often taken to Budi's dormitory in
Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, and also "to his office on Jl.
Merdeka Selatan, the vice presidential palace". (imn)