Two indicted over unauthorized book

Two indicted over unauthorized book

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court heard yesterday that two men charged with running an unauthorized campaign to launch a book about Vice President Try Sutrisno did not know that Try had not been informed about the book.

"I was not aware that the author, Ichsan, hadn't yet contacted Try," defendant Samsudin Ali told the court yesterday.

Samsudin, secretary of the proposed book launching ceremony, along with Dafid, sales coordinator of invitations to the ceremony, is being prosecuted for organizing publicity for the book and selling unauthorized invitations to the book launching.

Ichsan, who is accused of writing the book without the Vice President's permission, is being prosecuted separately.

The book is titled Pak Try: Komentar dan Aspirasinya 1993 (Try: His 1993 Comment and Aspirations).

The three defendants were arrested on July 7, two weeks before the launching ceremony was scheduled to take place at the Jakarta Fair Ground.

Samsudin said they had planned to sell at least 500 invitations to the launching at the price of Rp 300,000 (US$135) each, adding that the idea was to raise funds for an anti-AIDS campaign.

He said that, at the time the three were arrested, they had sold 10 invitations. The buyers were high-ranking officials, including some from the defense and security ministry and the Supreme Advisory Council, Samsudin said.

He also said he did not know that Ichsan had not yet contacted the cabinet ministers who were listed as speakers at the proposed launching.

Ichsan's lawyer Pulungan told The Jakarta Post that his client had in fact told Try about the book. (03)