Team questions Prabowo over mid-May riots

JAKARTA (JP): The government-sponsored fact-finding team investigating the May riots questioned Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto on Monday over the unrest which left 1,200 people dead and led to the downfall of his father-in-law, former president Soeharto.

Bambang W. Soeharto, who leads the team's subcommittee on testimony, told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Tuesday that the questioning took place at Prabowo's residence on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta.

"Prabowo welcomed us and (the questioning) lasted for about one hour," Bambang said, adding that he was accompanied by team members Bambang Widjojanto, who is a human rights activist, and businesswoman Rosita S. Noer.

Bambang said Prabowo was questioned because he was chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) when the riots broke out. His troops were deployed on the streets of a number of Indonesian cities.

According to Bambang, Prabowo asserted that he had done his duty by deploying troop reinforcements as requested by the Jakarta Military Command.

Bambang said Prabowo admitted that Army personnel were outnumbered by the rioters.

Rosita told the Post that Prabowo had deployed 14 companies (1,400 troops) to back up the Jakarta Military Command prior to the riots.

Bambang said that Prabowo had denied allegations that he was behind the riots in which thousands of shops and buildings were looted, damaged and burned.

"There are rumors that I was behind the riots... that's not true," Prabowo was quoted by Bambang as saying.

Bambang did not elaborate.

Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto discharged Prabowo from the military last month for his involvement in the abduction and torture of political activists.

Prabowo was the fifth active or former high-ranking officer to be questioned by the investigation team. In the past two weeks, the team has questioned former Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, former city police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata and the head of the ABRI Intelligence Agency, Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim.

Zacky told the investigation team last week that his agency had warned all military units of the possibility of unrest as far back as April.

Separately, team chairman Marzuki Darusman told the Post that the team would soon question Marines Corps chief Maj. Gen. Suharto to collect more information about the riots, during which security was allegedly non-existent.

Marzuki, who is also deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, did not rule out the possibility of questioning former National Police chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo and the head of the State Intelligence Coordinating Board (BAKIN), Lt. Gen. (ret) Moetojib.

The government established the fact-finding team on July 23.

The 19-member team is made up of representatives from the Armed Forces, the government, the human rights commission and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It has been given a mandate to investigate and, if possible, determine who organized the riots, which some have said were orchestrated.

The joint team is expected to complete its task towards the end of October. (byg)