Louise Williams, Jakarta – A secret interrogation centre where torture is used against political opponents of the Soeharto regime was revealed today to the Indonesian Human Rights Commission.
A political activist, Mr Pius Lustrilanang, wept as he told the commission about the centre, where he said he was held for almost two months after being seized in February. He also named four other missing political activists held at the centre at the same time in six windowless, air-conditioned cells monitored by video cameras.
Indonesia's military and police have repeatedly denied involvement in a series of mysterious "disappearances" of opposition activists, but Mr Lustrilanang's claim of a centralised facility will make it more difficult to blame criminals for the abductions or claim the activists have gone into hiding.
Mr Lustrilanang, 29, said he was tortured with electric shocks and had his head held in a tank of water after being kidnapped by masked men in Jakarta in early February. He had been working as secretary-general of Siaga, a loose opposition coalition of supporters of the Muslim critic Mr Amien Rais and the pro-democracy figurehead Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri.
"I talk today at the risk of death," Mr Lustrilanang told the commission, which was opened to journalists this morning. "I know the risk is not small. I ask for the support of society, because it will encourage other witnesses to speak out."
He said his abductors had threatened execution if he revealed details of the two months he was missing. He was released by masked men earlier this month on to a flight to his home town of Palembang, on the island of Sumatra.
He said he was told to say he had been "in hiding" of his own free will during a security crackdown on opposition figures that has seen at least 300 arrested this year as demonstrations against the Soeharto Government escalate. Mr Lustrilanang said he was blindfolded or his interrogators were masked at all times, making them impossible to identify. He kept track of the day and time only because a radio was kept on very loud 21 hours a day in the windowless centre.
"I was driven around for about an hour after I was kidnapped," he said, "and in the centre, I could hear propeller planes, not jets – so it could have been near a military airfield."
He said he was detained with a Megawati supporter, Haryanto Taslam, a legal aid lawyer, Desmond Mahesa, and student leaders Waluyo Djati, Faisol Reza and two others. Taslam and Mahesa reappeared earlier this month, but the student leaders remain missing.
A Human Rights Commission member, Sjamsoeddin, said the commission had guaranteed Mr Pius's safety and would seek a similar guarantee from the police.
The Indonesian Human Rights Commission was established by the Soeharto Government, but has since proved independent in pursuing human rights cases.
"These detentions are illegal," Sjamsoeddin said. "If it goes on like this we won't be a country based on law. If we are based on law it is clear we don't have any kidnappings. So we call on the police to use the legal procedure if they think someone has a case to answer."
He said the threats made against Mr Lustrilanang contravened the right to live in freedom from fear.
A hman rights lawyer, Hendardi, who attended this morning's meeting said: "We stress that this is the responsibility of the state to provide us with answers. By not doing so they are acting with impunity. "We urge the police to solve the issue, so it is clear whether the kidnappers are criminals or the police themselves." The Human Rights Commission lists 12 people missing since the beginning of this year, when demonstrations over worsening economic conditions and the Soeharto Government's iron grip on power escalated. Those who have recently returned have previously remained silent.