Youths demonstrate support for Bintang

Youths demonstrate support for Bintang

JAKARTA (JP): A group of 20 youths staged a peaceful
demonstration outside the Attorney General's Office yesterday,
protesting the arrest of rebel politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas.

Calling themselves the Committee of Indonesian Youths, the
students did not ask for a meeting with the officials, despite
being invited inside, but insisted on reading out a statement
opposing the arrest.

They also waved placards, some of which read: "Save the
citizens," "Clobber Eddy Tansil," and "Keep your promises."

The students were referring to businessman Eddy Tansil who
escaped last year from Cipinang prison where he was serving 20
years for swindling the government-run Bank Pembangunan Indonesia
(Bapindo) of US$620 million.

Bintang and two fellow members of the unrecognized Indonesian
Democratic Union Party are being accused of subversion for
sending Idul Fitri greetings cards which contained the party's
three-point agenda: to boycott the 1997 election, to reject
President Soeharto's reelection in 1998 and to prepare a new era
for a post-Soeharto administration.

The former United Development Party legislator had earlier
refused to be questioned by one Attorney General's Office
official who was believed to have embezzled interest worth
billions of rupiah of Tansil's assets deposited at Bapindo.

His lawyers, Achmad Fauzan and Irianto Subiakto, were refused
access to meet Bintang yesterday for "bureaucratic reasons."
Ramelan, the head of the office's public relations and legal
affairs department, was not on hand to grant the two permission
to meet their client.

Bintang has also claimed he lodged his complaints about the
procedure of his arrest with the National Commission on Human
Rights and the Legal Aid Institute.

Commission chairman Munawir Sjadzali, however, said he had not
yet received the letter. Furthermore, "the commission will not
interfere with the ongoing legal procedure, unless there's a
violation of human rights," he said.

"If asked, however, the commission would consider
(intervening)," he said. (05/swe)