Wanted labor activists surrender

Wanted labor activists surrender

JAKARTA (JP): A labor activist who has been on the run since
April 14 for allegedly masterminding a workers' riot in Medan was
spirited from his hiding place to Jakarta on Thursday.

He was turned in by his colleagues to the Armed Forces (ABRI).

Amosi Telaumbanua, chairman of the Medan chapter of the
Indonesian Prosperous Trade Union (SBSI), was escorted by other
SBSI executives to the ABRI's Intelligence Agency on Thursday
evening at ABRI's headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Besides Amosi, two other SBSI Medan leaders also surrendered.
They were Soniman Lasau and Fatiwanolo Zega.

Tohap Simanungkalit of the SBSI Central Executive Board said
that Amosi and two colleagues turned themselves in after they
received assurances from the authorities that they would not be
tortured.

Tohap said SBSI was committed to a respect of the law and had
therefore taken the difficult decision of bringing Amosi over
from Medan to Jakarta to hand him to the authorities.

The choice of Jakarta, rather than Medan, was based on SBSI's
experience in the past that detainees here were treated better
than in other cities and their interrogations stuck to official
protocol.

"Let the Indonesian people become living witnesses to what
kind of treatment he and his colleagues would be subjected to,"
Tohap said.

Amosi was transported by road to Padang, West Sumatra, before
flown to Jakarta on Thursday, according to SBSI sources.

SBSI, while acknowledging that it was behind many of the
workers' strikes in Medan early this month, denied that it
encouraged workers to use violence.

The military singled out SBSI for the riots that left one
businessman dead and caused extensive financial damage as shops
and factories were ransacked and looted and cars overturned when
more than 20,000 workers ran amuck following a protest.

The city was tense for at least one week but life has now
returned to normal.

YLBHI

The SBSI headquarters in Jakarta and the Indonesian Legal Aid
Foundation (YLBHI) had been involved in the plan to hand over
Amosi for the past week.

In an interview with the Tempo news weekly from his hiding
place, Amosi said he was willing to surrender and account for his
actions but feared that he might be tortured.

His trip to Jakarta on Thursday was even kept secret from the
local executives of SBSI and the Legal Aid Institute in Medan,
who led the negotiations with the military and police earlier and
expected to deliver him to the authorities.

The transfer was originally planned yesterday in Medan but on
the appointed hour they told the police they could not find him.

"We lost contact yesterday (Thursday). We couldn't find him at
his hiding place," said Rekson Silaban, a local SBSI executive.

He even suggested that Amosi might have been abducted.

YLBHI yesterday announced that it planned to provide the legal
counseling for all the SBSI detainees and other workers arrested
since the riot.

The foundation also protested at the authorities' decision on
Sunday to bust the union's second anniversary meeting in Jakarta.

No permit

Yesterday, Jakarta Police Chief Moch. Hindarto defended the
ban saying that the SBSI should have applied for a permit for any
gathering involving more than five people, "even for their
anniversary."

SBSI has been challenging the government's policy of
recognizing only the All Indonesian Workers' Union (SPSI) to
represent workers in disputes with managements.

The government has declined SBSI's application to register as
a trade union saying that the organization was politically
motivated and did not truly represent the workers' interests.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief, when asked whether the
government would move to outlaw the SBSI, responded yesterday
"What's there to ban? It was never recognized in the first place.
SBSI doesn't exist."

Speaking to reporters after meeting Vice President Try
Sutrisno, Latief said the government has been going all out to
ensure that workers' rights are observed.

"I think the Minister of Manpower has been the forefront in
fighting for the workers' interests," said Latief, who was a
successful businessman before joining the cabinet last year.

He added that his office was always open to workers who wanted
to air their complaints. (emb/rmn/rms/bsr)