Yor's arrest was not politically motivated: Hendro
Yor's arrest was not politically motivated: Hendro
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the Jakarta branch of the Agency for
the Coordination of Support for National Stability (Bakorstanasda
Jaya), Maj. Gen. Hendropriyono, yesterday denied that the arrest
of Yor, the head of a leading national youth organization, was
politically motivated.
"It's not true that Yor's arrest was politically motivated. He
was arrested for gambling and gambling only," the two-star
general who is popularly known as Hendro insisted.
Hendro's comment came in reaction to a statement made by the
chairman of the central executive board of the Pemuda Pancasila
youth organization, Yapto Suryosumarno, that Yor's arrest was
inherent with political bias.
Yor was arrested along with six other persons less than two
weeks ago at a gambling den on Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta. The
suspects were caught red-handed playing rummy and macok at a
house which also functioned as an office and a warehouse for
plywood.
During the raid, police also confiscated Rp 1,572,000 (US$725)
in cash, gambling paraphernalia and pornographic discs.
Initially the arrest did not receive much attention from the
press because many journalists feared that their personal safety
would be threatened for publicizing the detention of the head of
the notoriously raucous youth organization.
The fear was so great among journalists that Lt. Col. Gories
Mere, chief of general crimes at city police headquarters,
offered the services of the mobile brigade forces to protect
them.
Commenting on the arrest, Jakarta's Deputy Chief of Police,
Brig. Gen. Ismet Ibrahim yesterday explained that Yor's arrest
was conducted in accordance to the proper procedures.
"He will undergo due process -- let's wait and see how it
turns out," he said, while accompanying Hendro in a surprise
inspection of incoming Indonesian housemaids at the Soekarno-
Hatta airport yesterday.
Debt collector
Meanwhile, Moh. Assegaff, a prominent lawyer, said yesterday
that the existence of debt-collectors was not entirely illegal.
"Many of them are quite successful in collecting owed money
from debtors who are using the bureaucracy of the courts in order
to stall payment of their debts," he said, as quoted by Antara.
Assegaff's was commenting on a remark made by Hendro that he
would try to wipe-out the existence of debt-collectors.
Hendro believed that the methods of intimidation and physical
coercion used by debt collectors were distressing to the
community.
However Assegaff points out that not all debt-collectors
resorted to such gruesome tactics.
"I was once visited by a very tough looking, muscular debt
collector who had business with one of my clients. I explained my
clients position and we talked in a very civilized manner," he
said. (jsk/mds)