David Jenkins, Jakarta – A prominent Indonesian political activist who disappeared from a Jakarta hotel in suspicious circumstances nearly six week ago has turned up In Surabaya, 670 kilometres east of the capital, in equally mysterious circumstances.
The activist, Mr Haryanto Taslam, an adviser to the opposition leader Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, is apparently reluctant to say anything about his experience.
In a cryptic observation at the weekend, the secretary of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, Mr Munir, said he believed Mr Haryanto had been kidnapped by "certain people" because he was too outspoken.
"Haryanto, who lives in Jakarta, [was] released in Surabaya in an attempt to confuse his family and relatives," Mr Munir said.
Mr Munir told the Jakarta Post it was unlikely that Mr Haryanto would return to his home in Jakarta in the near future or "dare to reveal" where he had been since he went missing on March 9.
Mr Taslam is one of nearly a dozen Indonesian political activists and students who have disappeared in recent months. The spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), Brigadier-General Wahab Mokodongan, has denied any military involvement in the disappearances.
On Saturday, the Defence Minister, General Wiranto, 14 of his Cabinet colleagues and a phalanx of senior generals held what was billed as a "dialogue" with representatives of the nation's increasingly restive student movement.
However, the meeting was boycotted by students from two of the nations largest and most prestigious universities - the University of Indonesia in Jakarta and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta - and drew only one student from the equally high-profile Bandung Institute of Technology.
Students at the meeting accused President Soeharto of failing to respect the will of the people. Ja'far Amirudin, from the State-run Surabaya Institute of Technology in Surabaya, said: "We are here to struggle for reform. We have seen how arrogant power is. The Government has never even said sorry for the [currency] crisis which has strangled the people."
Eka Darma, from the state-run Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali, said: "If the President and Cabinet ministers are unable to lead the country, then they should have the guts to step down."
General Wiranto, in what was seen by his associates as a conciliatory address, told the meeting there should be no doubt about the Soeharto Government's commitment to political reform.
"In this era of globalisation we can't preserve the status quo," he said. "But what kind of reform are we speaking about? If it's radical, then it's unconstitutional. But if it's gradual and constitutional, then ABRI will be at the forefront of the reform movement."
Responding to claims that the dialogue was a manoeuvre to take the wind out of the student sails, General Wiranto said: "We have no intention of castrating or taming the students, not at all. We welcome criticism as long as it is positive. But if it threatens stability ABRI will oppose it."
One of four moderators at the meeting, Dr Salim Said, a military historian, said the dialogue should be viewed as a "cultural movement" and a chance for Indonesians to hear other people's opinions.
"For many years, during the New Order, we have only had a monologue in this country," he told the Herald.
"I hope we are going to begin a new political culture. This is our preparation for the post-Soeharto era. I don't expect any significant change during Soeharto's time."