Three defendants admit kidnapping

Three defendants admit kidnapping

JAKARTA (JP): Three of the 11 members of the Army Special
Forces (Kopassus) charged with abducting political activists in
the last months of Soeharto's rule admitted on Thursday they had
kidnapped some of them.

Chief Sgt. Sunaryo, Chief Sgt. Sigit Sugianto and First Sgt.
Sukadi told a military tribunal they were involved in the
kidnappings of at least eight activists in February and March
last year -- Pius Lustrilanang, Haryanto Taslam, Feisol Reza,
Raharjo Waluyo Djati, Aan Rusdianto, Nezar Patria, Mugianto and
Andi Arief.

The activists are among 23 people abducted by unidentified men
since April 1997.

Nine of them have resurfaced after weeks of absence and spoken
of abductions and torture, one was found dead and 13 others are
still listed as missing.

"I did the "picking up" of Haryanto Taslam, Feisol Reza and
Mugianto," Sukadi told the Jakarta Military Court in Klender,
East Jakarta.

Presiding judge Col. Susanto decided to question the three
after none of the five witnesses summoned for the trial appeared
in court. Four of the witnesses had been kidnap victims.

Sukadi said that Haryanto was abducted near the Beautiful
Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII) in East Jakarta on March 8;
Feisol from inside the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in
Central Jakarta on March 12; and Mugianto from the East Jakarta
Military Command on March 13, where he had been taken by an
officer from an East Jakarta district military post.

Meanwhile, Sunaryo said that he was involved in the abduction
of Andi in Lampung on March 28 while Sigit said that he was
involved in that of Pius on Feb. 4 last year and the kidnapping
of Djati on March 12.

Sunaryo and Sigit were also both involved in the abductions of
Aan and Nezar in the Klender low-cost apartment complex in East
Jakarta on March 13.

The three, who were the first among the 11 defendants put on
the witness stand, told the court that in describing their
actions they preferred using the phrase "picking up" rather than
"abduction" or "kidnapping".

Sunaryo, who was admitted to the elite unit in 1980 and had
been involved in a number of military operations in the country's
trouble spots of Irian Jaya and East Timor, said that besides
masks the defendants also used to don doctors' robes during the
interrogation of the activists "to conceal their military
posture".

The other eight defendants were a major and seven captains.

Military prosecutor Col. Harom Wijaya said at the trial's
opening session in December that the 11 soldiers were members of
the "Rose Team" within Kopassus. The Team, he said, had been set
up by the first defendant, Maj. Bambang Kristiono, in July 1997
to arrest "radical individuals".

Sunaryo said that the team was divided into two units led
respectively by Capt. Yulius Selvanus and Capt. Untung Budi
Harto. Both were also among the defendants.

Sunaryo said that he went to Lampung to "pick up" Andi with
Capt. Yulius, Capt. Untung, Capt. Dadang Hendra Yudha, Capt.
Djaka Budi Utama and Capt. Fauka Noor Farid.

Andi is an activist of the Indonesian Student Solidarity for
Democracy (SMID), a student wing of the People's Democratic Party
(PRD), which was outlawed under former president Soeharto.

The court was set to resume on Tuesday to hear testimonies
from the other defendants.

Rights activists have charged the trial is a "farce" mounted
to protect senior military officers and former president
Soeharto. Military prosecutors have said defendants had acted on
their own initiatives and the charges only relate to the nine
activists who have reappeared.

Activists have questioned why the charges did not mention the
torture that the victims have said they were subjected to.

At the time of abductions, the defendants were under the
command of Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto who was honorarily
discharged from the military in August for his involvement in the
abductions.

Prabowo, last known to be in Jordan, has admitted his
involvement in the abductions before the Officer's Honor Council
and activists have demanded that he be put on trial. (byg)