Sukmawati rejects debate on Sukarno
JAKARTA (JP): Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, a daughter of the late president Sukarno, has rejected journalist Mochtar Lubis' challenge for an open debate on her fathers' involvement in the 1965 coup.
"I'm not interested in public debates and will go ahead with my plan to sue him for insulting Indonesia's first president, which is a criminal act," she said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday.
She said she would make the court an open forum for a public showdown between her and Mochtar, who is proud to make himself known as Sukarno's buddy.
Sukmawati's statement was the latest development in the controversy over the role of president Sukarno in the Sept. 30, 1965 botched coup attempted by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Mochtar was embroiled in a war of words with Sukmawati, who claims to represent Sukarno's family, after he said in an interview with a local magazine that the late president was involved in the coup attempt.
The former journalist of the defunct Indonesia Raya was commenting on a book written by Manai Sophiaan, Honor for the One Who Deserves It, which exempts Sukarno from the coup attempt that claimed the lives of six army generals.
Last week, he invited Sukmawati to hold an "open dialog" and settle their dispute amicably.
Sukmawati has filed a complaint about Mochtar's allegation with police headquarters. National police chief Gen. Banurusman has announced his plan to summon Mochtar for questioning.
She gave Mochtar one more week to withdraw his statement and apologize to the Indonesian people for "slandering their first president."
"If he refuses this offer, I will return to police headquarters to demand that he be tried," she said.
She argued that Mochtar's allegation was baseless because Sukarno's involvement in the coup attempt had not been proven in court.
"It's slanderous and he has violated the principle of presumption of innocence," she said. "Even President Soeharto says in his biography that Bung Karno (Sukarno) wasn't involved in the coup." (pan)