Sukarno's daughters make peace with army officer

Sukarno's daughters make peace with army officer

JAKARTA (JP): A lawsuit for libel which was filed by two of
former president Sukarno's daughters against Armed Forces' Chief
of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid was settled by
mediation in court yesterday.

The conflicting parties agreed to end the row after Syarwan
"corrected" a contentious statement that he reportedly made on
Megawati Soekarnoputri, the deposed chairperson of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), and Sukmawati Soekarnoputri last August.

The agreement was mediated by Judge Thoyib at the East Jakarta
District Court.

Megawati and Sukmawati filed the lawsuit, saying they were
offended by Syarwan's statement, published by Surya daily
newspaper, which accused Megawati of planning to start a
rebellion along the lines of Cory Aquino's "people's power" in
the Philippines.

In the Surya article, Syarwan was reported as saying that
Sukmawati was mobilizing her Marhaen group, a pronationalist
organization of followers of Sukarno's teachings, to help the
rebellion.

Syarwan's remarks were reportedly made during a meeting with
members of the Indonesian Ulema Council in Jakarta on Aug. 12.
Surya's front page article the following day carried the
suggestive heading "Megawati wants to become Cory Aquino: ABRI
Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs".

Megawati and Sukmawati said the remarks were slanderous and
damaging to the reputation of their father and people in general.
They demanded a public apology and Rp 50 billion in damages.

Only Sukmawati was present in court yesterday. Syarwan and
Megawati were represented by their lawyers.

Syarwan's lawyers Col. Imron Anwari and Major Payaman
Pangaribuan told the court that the statements regarding the two
plaintiffs, printed in Surya, "were untrue".

This correction was deemed sufficient by the plaintiffs who
considered the case to be over, Antara reported.

R.O. Tambunan, who represented Megawati at the hearing, told
The Jakarta Post last night that his client was not insisting on
a public apology.

"The hearing today was open to the public and it was widely
covered by local and international press," Tambunan said, adding
that the decision "reflected Megawati's big heart".

The case for Rp 50 billion in damages was automatically
dropped.

"We weren't after the money when we filed the lawsuit. We only
wanted to see the names of Megawati and Sukmawati restored," he
said.

He said the peace agreement resulted from a meeting of the
parties' lawyers on Sept. 17.

"We did not drop the lawsuit. We came to an agreement," he
stressed.

Tambunan said that another lawsuit, filed by Megawati against
the Armed Forces Chief, the National Police Chief, the Minister
of Home Affairs and her foes in the PDI, would proceed.

In this lawsuit, Megawati is demanding that the results of the
congress of her PDI foes in Medan in June be annulled. The
congress, which had the backing of the government and the
military, deposed her as the party's leader.

This lawsuit is scheduled for this Thursday at the Central
Jakarta District Court. Efforts for an out of court settlement
have failed.

Syarwan's remarks in August came in the wake of massive riots
in Jakarta in which at least four people died.

The July 27 riots, blamed on the leftist Democratic People's
Party, began after the violent takeover of the PDI headquarters
by supporters of Soerjadi, who ousted Megawati as the party's
leader. (emb/imn)

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