Whereabouts of missing activists still unknown

Whereabouts of missing activists still unknown

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces
(ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto claimed yesterday he did not know
the whereabouts of the 12 missing activists but pledged to keep
searching for them.

"I still know nothing of their whereabouts and whether they
are still alive or not," Wiranto was quoted as saying by a
delegation from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras), led by Munir.

Munir told a media conference after meeting Wiranto at the
defense ministry in Central Jakarta that he and his eight-member
delegation was not satisfied with the military chief's response.

"In principle, many of our questions were not clearly
answered," Munir said.

National Military Police Commander Maj. Gen. Syamsu Djalal,
who is also head of ABRI's fact-finding team investigating the
disappearances, said last week that the team had visited the
Army's special force's (Kopassus) headquarters in Cijantung, East
Jakarta -- which was allegedly been used as a detention site for
activists -- to search for the missing activists, but did not
find anyone.

Munir said Wednesday he believed the activists were still
being held by units under the command of ABRI which might not
have been exposed or have been identified but yet to be revealed.

He said yesterday that when he told Wiranto about his belief,
the latter said: "It is impossible because the perpetrators (of
the abductions) have already been detained."

Syamsu said last week 11 members of Kopassus had been
questioned for their alleged involvement in the abductions of
political activists.

Syamsu also revealed that members of his own unit, of the
Jakarta Military Command, the Armed Forces Intelligence Agency
(BIA), and the National Police might have also been involved in
the "process" of the abductions.

Wiranto said yesterday that the investigation into the
abductions was almost complete and that the suspects' trials
could begin in two weeks.

Munir therefore urged Wiranto to have the military
investigators immediately question all who might possibly have
been involved, including former Kopassus chiefs Lt. Gen. Prabowo
Subianto and Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, former Jakarta
military commander Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, former ABRI commander
Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung, former police detective unit commander
Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi and ousted president Soeharto.

Prabowo said two weeks ago that he was ready to take
responsibility while Feisal has repeatedly denied his involvement
in the abductions of political activists.

Munir said that during the 90-minute closed-door meeting
Wiranto was accompanied by, among others, ABRI spokesman Maj.
Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif and BIA chief Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar.

"When I said to Wiranto that Zacky should also be questioned,
Zacky just smiled," Munir said.

Munir said that Rahardjo Waluyo Djati and Faisol Reza, two of
the nine activists who have reappeared after being abducted, and
relatives of Deddy Hamdun and Yani Avri, two of the 12 activists
who are still missing, were among his delegation yesterday.

Riots

Rights activist Marzuki Darusman, who heads the government-
sponsored fact-finding team into the May riots, said yesterday
the team was committed to unveiling the truth behind the riots
which were allegedly orchestrated.

"Our mission is to unveil all the facts which include the
motives, mastermind and impacts of the May riots and the result
(of the investigation) will be conveyed through a recommendation
to the government," Marzuki told a media briefing at the Ministry
of Justice in South Jakarta.

Marzuki said the team has been given three months to complete
its report.

He said the 24-member team has also been authorized to access
all related individuals and institutions, including the military,
to gather information on the riots.

"Certainly there should be no restriction in our effort to
collect information from various sources," said Marzuki, who is
also deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Marzuki, however, said the team would guarantee the safety of
all witnesses and the confidentiality of their testimonies.

The team includes representatives from ABRI, government
agencies, the rights body and non-governmental
organizations. (byg)