L Hakim/SWA & LM, Jakarta – Vice Director of the General Crime Division at the National Police Headquarters, Senior Superintendent Makbul Padmanegara, has admitted that their investigations point to heavy military involvement in the 27 July 1996 raid on the offices of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). An officer is set to be called on Monday. Who is he?
"There's no point mentioning names. Because this is the military, [the questionings] will start from the lower levels. The investigation will take place at the police headquarters or at the military police centre," Makbul told the press at the Police Detective Unit Headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo, South Jakarta, today.
As reported widely, on 27 July 1996 supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri, now Vice President, were violently attacked and ejected from the Party headquarters where they had been holed up after she was ousted from the PDI leadership in an internal party coup. At least five died in the riots that ensued in Jakarta and an unknown number of others "disappeared" in the following weeks and months.
A police report into the incident was submitted to the Attorney general in late June after questioning high level military figures, PDI leaders and hired thugs as "witnesses" and several of the civilians officially became suspects. The police concluded that there was extensive military involvement in the raid. However, according to Indonesian law, military personnel may only be tried in a military court and few in the police, parliament or civil society believed a military panel would placate the calls for justice in this controversial case. The House, therefore, decided to set up a "connectivity trial" which would breach the legal immunity of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).
The "Connectivity Team" subsequently established to look into the involvement of the military is comprised exclusively of members of the military's legal advisory team, the National Police Investigation Team and the Military Police.
Makbul told the press today that they had questioned as many as 30 civilians since beginning their investigations one week ago. "The majority of their testimonies are the same as those already given to the national police," he said.
He also commented on the fact that several of the civilians named as suspects in the police investigation had asked for their status to be changed to witness. Makbul only shrugged his shoulders. "They can demand anything. But their status as suspect can not be revoked because they will be questioned as suspects during the connectivity investigations," Makbul said.
Ironically, two of the most prominent civilians in question, Suryadi, who became PDI leader upon Megawati's ouster, and Yorris Raweyei, daily leader of the Pemuda Pancasila gang linked to the former New Order regime, were among the most vocal proponents of the connectivity trial. They and the public at large will no doubt be following developments closely as the team established to perform the initial investigations begins to call as yet unknown military personnel.
At the time of the incident the following military (ABRI) and police officers had varying degrees of jurisdiction over security in the capital:
- President/Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces General (Ret.): HM Soeharto
- Commander of ABRI: General Feisal Tanjung
- Expert staff member of the Commander of ABRI in the Defense and Security division: MajGen Agum Gumelar
- Minister of Home Affairs: Yogie Suardi Memet
- Director General of Social-Political Affairs: Soetoyo NK
- Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs: LetGen (Ret) Soesilo Soedarman (deceased)
- Minister of Security and Defense: General (Ret) Edi Sudrajat
- Army Chief of Staff: General R. Hartono
- Deputy Army Chief of Staff: MajGen FX Soedjasmin
- General Chief of Staff (ABRI): LetGen Soeyono
- Chief of Staff of Social-Political Affairs (ABRI): LetGen Syarwan Hamid
- Chief of Central Information (ABRI): BrigGen Amir Syarifudin
- Commander of the Army Staregic Reserves: LetGen Wiranto
- Chief of National Police: General (Pol) Dibyo Widodo
- Operational Deputy to the Chief of National Police: MajGen Hutagalung
- Director of Detective Unit: BrigGen Noerfaizi
- Chief of Armed Forces Intellegence: MajGen Syamsir Siregar
- Deputy Chief of Armed Forces Intellegence:MajGen Achdari
- Director of Armed Forces Intellegence "A": MajGen Zacky Anwar Makarim
- Commander of the Jakarta Military Area: MajGen Soetiyoso (currently Govenor of Jakarta)
- Chief of Staff of the Jakarta Military Area: BrigGen Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin
- Chief of the Jakarta City Police: MajGen (Pol) Hamami Nata
- Govenor of the Jakarta Special Province: Surjadi Sudirdja
- Chief of the Central Jakarta Police: LetCol Abubakar Nataprawira