Sutiyoso denies hiring Pemuda Pancasila

Sutiyoso denies hiring Pemuda Pancasila

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso denied on Thursday that he had
ordered members of the Pemuda Pancasila (PP) youth organization
to help takeover the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
headquarters on July 27, 1996.

"I never ordered the youth organization to take part in the
July 27, 1996 takeover," Sutiyoso announced at City Hall.

He was commenting on a statement by lawyers of the youth
organization's deputy chairman, Yoris Raweyai, who said on
Wednesday that their client had received an order from the
Jakarta Military Command to deploy some 100 of its members to
help PDI supporters loyal to the party's splinter group's
chairman Soerjadi raid and take over the party headquarters.
Party members loyal to chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is
now Vice President, had occupied the headquarters at the time.

Sutiyoso, then a two-star general, was the Jakarta Military
commander when the takeover took place.

Yoris told the police on Wednesday that several officers from
the command asked him to send out his men to secure SMP 8 and SMP
9 junior high schools, the residence of (former minister of
women's affairs) Mien Sugandhi and the Palestinian Embassy, all
on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta.

The takeover sparked a mass riot in the city, in which at
least five people were killed and another 149 injured, while 23
people are reportedly still missing.

Yoris is currently being detained at the National Police
Headquarters on Jl. Trunojoya in South Jakarta.

When asked whether Sutiyoso had special relations with the
youth organization, the governor only said it was common for a
military commander to have relations with any mass organization.

"I had established relations with many mass organizations, not
only with Pemuda Pancasila," he said.

Sutiyoso, however, refused to explain further.

"I will disclose all I know to the police. Until then, you'll
have to wait," he said to reporters.

Contacted separately, city spokesman Muhayat confirmed the
governor's intention to meet any police summons.

"The governor said he would obey a summon as it would reflect
the supremacy of the law," he said over the phone.

In a separate development, chairman of West Papua Youth Forum
John Poli Menanti asked the National Police to release Yoris in
20 days or trouble would happen in Irian Jaya, while citing that
the forum had 8,000 members.

"I'm not threatening, but I'm afraid that there will be
political turmoil in Papua," he was quoted as saying by detik.com
online news provider when paying Yoris a visit on Thursday.

"Yoris' fault isn't clear yet so he should be released," he
added.

John said Yoris was only an operator who received orders from
generals such as Sutiyoso, former Armed Forces (ABRI) chief of
sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Syarwan Hamid and former
president Soeharto.

"He wouldn't do such things unless there were orders. The
generals are the ones who should be arrested," he said.

Yoris' lawyers are scheduled to hold a media conference at the
National Police headquarters next Monday. (nvn)