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)