Yangon may free Indonesian activists soon

JAKARTA (JP): The three Indonesian activists detained in Yangon are expected to be released soon because Myanmar authorities have found no direct link between them and local opposition groups, an Indonesian envoy said.

"I'm sure they will be released soon because they have no direct link with the anti-government movement here," Indonesian Ambassador in Yangon Poerwanto Lenggono told The Jakarta Post by telephone from the Myanmar capital.

He said that he had been given access to the three detainees and that they were in good health.

Poerwanto said that while visiting the three on Tuesday night, he talked with an investigator who said that no direct link between them and opposition groups in the country had been found.

However the officer could not give information about when the three would be released. "It is up to my superiors," Poerwanto quoted the officer as saying.

The three -- R. Fadjri, Sulaiman Haikal and Christian Evert -- were detained along with 15 other foreign activists on Sunday for allegedly distributing pro-democracy leaflets.

Sulaiman Haikal and Christian Evert are activists from the Center for Information and Action Network for Reform (PIJAR), a Jakarta-based non-governmental organization which established a reputation for staging pro-democracy demonstrations during former president Soeharto's era.

R. Fadjri is a Yogyakarta-based correspondent for The Jakarta Post and D&R magazine.

Poerwanto said that the three, along with an Australian and two Filipinos were being held in the local police guest house.

He said the condition of the guest house was adequate and had bedrooms, bathrooms and a dining room. They were also free to walk around in the garden inside the compound, he added.

Poerwanto said he did not know where the other detainees -- six Americans, three Thais and three Malaysians -- were being held.

According to the ambassador, the three Indonesians told him that they initially did not plan to go to Myanmar because they had gone abroad to attend a seminar in Bangkok.

However when the seminar ended on Tuesday they were persuaded by a Thai colleague to go to Yangon.

Poerwanto said the Indonesian government was doing its utmost to secure their release.

"We will try our best to push for their release," Poerwanto said, adding that he is in constant contact with local authorities.

"Tonight (yesterday) they plan to use my cellular phone to call their relatives in Indonesia," added Poerwanto. (byg)