Three military forces involved in abductions: Andi

Three military forces involved in abductions: Andi

JAKARTA (JP): Political activist Andi Arief alleged yesterday
that at least two other military institutions besides the Army's
special force (Kopassus) were involved in the abductions of
activists earlier this year.

He, however, refused to name the two bodies until after the 14
other activists still missing return. Andi himself was released
by the city police last week.

The Armed Forces (ABRI), in a shocking revelation, said last
week that several Kopassus members were involved in the
abductions of political activists during the regime of former
president Soeharto.

So far, 10 Kopassus members have been questioned and the
military police are preparing to take them to court.

In a media briefing at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation in
Central Jakarta yesterday, Andi said he refused to be questioned
over his abduction by military investigators before they found
the remaining missing activists.

"I consider the three previous questionings during my
detention in police custody as sufficient (for the military
investigation team) to find my (missing) friends," Andi, 27,
said.

He did not give details of the previous interrogations.

Andi, the chairman of the Indonesian Students Solidarity for
Democracy, which is a student wing of the outlawed People's
Democratic Party, said he believed the military already knew the
whereabouts of the 14 missing activists due to the extensive
information given by him and others who have reappeared since
being abducted.

Moreover, Andi said, the military had already identified
suspects in the abductions.

"Whatever their (the missing activists) conditions are, dead
or physically wounded, they have to be released," Andi said.

Among the activists who are still missing are Suyat, a student
of Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java and
Driyarkara School of Philosophy student Bimo Petrus Anugrah.

Suyat went missing in February in Surakarta, while Bimo
vanished in Jakarta last March.

Andi, a graduate of Gadjah Mada University's School of Social
and Political Sciences, also said the abductions were
systematically organized rather than mere "procedural violations"
as the military had said they were.

"I was abducted, interrogated and handed over to the police by
different units, so it is clear that this was not a procedural
error at all," Andi said.

Andi therefore said that the investigators should summon the
police officer, Lt. Col. Lubis, who received him from his
abductors.

Andi was abducted by an unidentified gang in Lampung on March
28. He said that after being abducted he was taken by ferry from
Bakauheni port to Merak port, and then overland to Jakarta.

After arriving in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, Andi was
blindfolded.

He was then driven for one and a half hours to an unknown
destination and placed in a cell where he remained until being
handed over to police on April 17.

Police, however, maintain that Andi was in their custody from
March 29, a day after he disappeared, and was arrested for his
alleged involvement in a bomb explosion at a low-cost apartment
in Central Jakarta in January.

"What was said by Nurfaizi was a total lie, I was only asked
to sign the arrest warrant dated March 29 on April 17," Andi said
referring to then police detective unit commander Maj. Gen.
Nurfaizi, who is now the Central Java Police chief. (byg)