Youth group protests 'D&R' editorial on Sofjan Wanandi

JAKARTA (JP): About 40 youths demonstrated outside the headquarters of D&R magazine yesterday, protesting its latest editorial which suggests they were sent by the military to stage recent demonstrations against businessman Sofjan Wanandi.

The youths called the article in D&R's current issue slanderous and demanded a public apology from the weekly founded in 1968 and known for its independent, critical and hard-hitting articles.

"D&R has slandered us. It doesn't have any evidence to prove its claim," the youths, calling themselves the Greater Jakarta Islamic Youth Front, said in a statement.

They arrived carrying banners condemning the magazine. One read: D&R Antek Penghianat Bangsa (D&R Tool of the Nation's Traitors).

They set fire to copies of the magazine, which carried a picture of Sofjan on the cover under the headline "Bomb for Conglomerates".

Last week, the group protested outside the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank run by Sofjan and his brother Jusuf Wanandi. They demanded its dissolution.

The group also called for the prosecution of Sofjan following allegations that he financed activities of the outlawed People's Democratic Party (PRD). Sofjan has already been questioned by the military during which he denied any link to PRD.

He was implicated after his name was mentioned as a potential financier in documents found in an apartment believed to have been used by PRD activists. A homemade bomb exploded in the Tanah Tinggi apartment last month which sparked the probe.

Police have said that Sofjan might be wanted for further questioning as a witness in their bomb investigation.

The contentious editorial in its Feb. 7 edition is titled Sofjan Wanandi's Case. Whom Do You Believe?

D&R editors invited representatives of the protesters to meet them and discuss the problem.

"We are really insulted by this article," Bambang Pribadi, one of the representatives, told Zulkifli Lubis and Bambang Budjono, D&R's deputy general manager and managing editor respectively.

Budjono said he respected the protesters' feelings but pointed out that the editorial merely reflected the opinion of the magazine's editor.

"We could be right or wrong. We apologize if we were wrong. We could publish your statement in our next edition," he said.

The protesters appeared to accept the explanation, and shook hands with Budjono and Zulkifli, and then dispersed. (aan)