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)