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)