Syarwan set to clarify July 27 tragedy

JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. (ret.) Syarwan Hamid, former chief of Indonesian Military's (TNI) now defunct socio-political affairs office, said he was ready to give his account of events surrounding the July 27 tragedy.

"I am ready to give a clarification to the National Police. The sooner the clarification is conducted the better the situation will be," he said when he asked to comment on renewed Police investigation into the incident here on Saturday.

Syarwan said he wanted the investigation to be carried out fairly and without pressure.

"I want an objective legal process in the Police investigation," he said.

Gen. (retired) Feisal Tanjung, who was military commander at the time has also denied he was behind the tragedy and ready to clarify the matter with police.

The July 27, 1996 incident, has become an infamous mark in Indonesia political history; the date followers of Soerjadi forcefully took over the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters which was controlled by loyalists of Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Megawati had just been ousted by Soerjadi from the party chair in a government-backed congress.

With the election of Megawati as Vice President there has been greater impetus to investigate the incident.

The National Police recently pledged to complete its investigation into the case in three months.

Susilo Muslimin, a retired Police major, who witnessed the attack, said in Surabaya, East Java on Saturday that Buttu Hutapea, PDI's former secretary general and Lukman Mokoginta, former PDI deputy chairman, should be held as key witnesses in the incident.

"I am ready to give testimony that the two were involved in the attack. I saw them present in the group of red-clothed men attacking those who were inside the Headquarters," he said.

Susilo, was in charge of security when the PDI headquarters in Central Jakarta was attacked.(rms)