Jakarta – Ex-chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Soerjadi disclosed yesterday that Lieutenant General (ret.) Syarwan Hamid played a pivotal role in the 1996 hostile takeover of PDI headquarters, paving the way for a thorough investigation into the involvement of the government and military in the melee.
"Syarwan Hamid took part in a series of secret meetings in the Regent Hotel on June 26, 1996, in BPD Plaza, and in Cibubur on July 23. A meeting also took place in his office. All of them [the meetings] discussed plans to take over PDI headquarters," Paskalis Pieter, Soerjadi' lawyer, told the press on the sidelines of Soerjadi's interrogation at Police Headquarters here.
Soerjadi was grilled yesterday over his role in the hostile takeover of PDI headquarters on Jalan Dipo-negoro in Central Jakarta on July 27, 1996. A government-backed, controversial party congress in early 1996 appointed Soerjadi as PDI chairman. He took over the position from the legitimate chairperson, Megawati Soe-karno-putri, who is currently the Vice President of Indonesia.
Megawati's staunch backers, however, did not recognize Soerjadi's leadership and refused to leave the headquarters. On July 27, Soerjadi's "Mr. Fix It", Buttu Hutapea, spearheaded a massive attack on the headquarters. He led hundreds of hired thugs backed by military personnel. The violence triggered a massive riot. At the time, Syarwan was the Chief of Military Sociopolitical Affairs.
Following the ouster of Soeharto in May 1998, Megawati and her new political party, called the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), moved ahead to emerge as the 1999 poll winner.
"The police are still hesitant to probe high-ranking military officials accused of masterminding the takeover," Pieter said. Soerjadi and Huta-pea, however, have been named suspects in the case. "Other top military officers allegedly involved in the fracas include General (ret.) Feisal Tanjung who was the Military Commander at the time, and Major General Sutiyoso who was then the Jakarta Mlitary Chief. Sutiyoso is currently serving as city governor of Jakarta.
"Their names are mentioned in the dossier on the case. However, they haven't been summoned," Pieter said.
Initially, Soerjadi's group planned to negotiate with Megawati's supporters, Pieter stated. "Suddenly, there were people everywhere, surrounding the head-quarters – and violence broke out," he said. "Therefore, I'm of the opinion that this cannot be blamed solely on Soerjadi and his team," he added.
Jakarta Police Colonels Makbul Patmanegara and Hasikin Husein questioned Soerjadi about the secret meetings between him and scores of PDI and military officials. Police spokesman Brigadier General Dadang Garnida said yesterday in Bandung, West Java, that his office "is now well-prepared to summon a number of military officers including several generals" over the July 27 case. "The Police will summon a score of military officers, from the lower to higher ranks," Garnida said.