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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