Jakarta – Certain groups have seen indications that the riots in Ketapang [Jakarta - trans] and Kupang are forms of revenge perpetrated by civilian forces prepared by the Cendana Group in retaliation for the attacks on Soeharto's position and to serve as a warning to halt investigations into the Soeharto family.
A similar suggestion was made by Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid, trans.] on Monday, 29 November, after the visit by Julius Cardinal Darmaatmaja SJ. Gus Dur said that 3 operators had departed for Kupang before the riots began. This in turn appears to be related to indications that the Kupang riots were designed and controlled by Jakarta.
If Gus Dur's suggestion can be proven, the assumptions now circulating among several groups and students in the wake of the Semanggi Tragedy are bound to create a major upheaval. Many people suspect that at that moment, Soeharto's political interests converged with the political interests of the Armed Forces because of the two central demands, i.e. to bring Soeharto and his cronies to trial and to abolish the Armed Forces dual function. Thus, both the Armed Forces and the Soeharto family are concerned to ensure that these demands do not spread.
The case of Wiwid Pratiwo, the Trisakti University student who had been forced to become an informant to spy on the students, shows indications that before the shootings on Friday, 13 November l998, all informants were asked to leave the Atmajaya Catholic University campus because "free" fire was to begin. If Wiwid received the message before 13:00 hours, this means that there was a scenario already in place to open fire at 13:00. Who gave the command to fire? Which groups had the most at stake? It is necessary to point out that Wiwid was recruited by an individual claiming to be a member of the Presidential Guard. Although Wiwid's recruitment as an informant by Private 2nd class CPM, Budi Laksono is still controversial – the more so with the official denial issued by the Armed Forces, who state that Private 2nd class Budi Laksono deserted two months ago.
A number of groups question which side is actually responsible for Private Budi Laksono's "assignment." Questions have also been raised as to the source of the sizeable funds to underwrite the operation.
According to a SiaR source, the eldest daughter of Soeharto, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, with Bambang Trihatmodjo, have funded security operations in Jakarta since the end of May l998. This includes the security for the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly for which they brought in people from the regions outside Jakarta, formed Self Initiated Security units, and mobilizing special task forces to take attention away from the focus of the students' movement.
Mbak Tutut [familiar name for Soeharto's daughter] is assisted by several field operators, including SS, a Jakarta journalist and former Jakarta Coordinating Body activist, l989-90. This bespectacled man has been under the guidance of the East Jakarta Military Command since his student days at the Jakarta Institute of Teacher Training. Another operator is MR, a former journalist with a once banned tabloid. Also involved is a former Bandung Institute of Technology activist with the initials SN. The two last mentioned people are the field operators for the high-cost Pam Swakarsa (self-initiated security units) deployed during the Special Session.
For their meetings, Mbak Tutut's field operators use the Cemara Hotel on Jalan Cemara, near Mbak Tutut's residence on Jalan Yusuf Adiwinata. According to a SiaR source, SN is in charge of all logistics and equipment for these militias. MR is charged with recruiting and contacting civilian soldiers for training in Cibubur and Rindam Jaya. SS, on the other hand, has been chosen to be the right hand in the entire operation.
To cover all eventualities, these Cendana "troops" have also established a foundation to recruit young unemployed men and thugs (preman) from the outskirts of Jakarta. These men, promised uniforms and good wages, are trained to become civilian soldiers to safeguard Cendana interests. The foundation is named the Foundation for the Welfare of Indonesian Society (YAKMI, Yayasan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Indonesia), with central headquarters located in Permata Pamulang, Tangerang. The Chief Executive Officer of YAKMI is Mbak Tutut's own son, Dandi R. Kusnidar. The Chair is the leader of the Indonesian Traditional Sports workshop (Pancalaga), Dion Adikusuma.
In the run up to the Special Session, YAKMI formed an elite unit named the Satgas Tebas [Task force for volunteer assistance; "tebas", short for "tenaga bantuan sukarela", i.e. voluntary assistants, also means "cut down", trans.] This taskforce is said to have been disguised as a YAKMI unit for social work and in September l998 trained the first vigilante groups. For one week, the first 150 vigilantes were trained in paramilitary discipline at Rindam Jaya.
This task force has now trained many more groups and in the near future these troops are to be spread to all areas of Indonesia, in particular, to areas with high conflict potential. The Satgas members are recruited from a number of areas outside Jakarta, including Bogor, Sukabumi, Subang, Cirebon, Garut, Tasikmalah, Lampung and Tangerang. During the period of training, members are each given Rp. 200,000 as pocket money.