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)