Jakarta – Head of the feared Pemuda Pancasila organization Yorrys Raweyai, who was on Tuesday arrested by police, yesterday admitted the Jakarta Military Command had ordered him to mobilize his forces ahead of the July 27 riots of 1996.
However, he denied that he or Pemuda Pancasila had taken part in the attack on the Central Jakarta headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), which sparked the bloody unrest.
Yorrys' lawyer Doni Antares Irawan, who yesterday visited National Police headquarters to protest against the detention of his client, said the military had tasked Yorrys to "secure" the PDI headquarters on Jalan Diponegoro and several nearby buildings. Pro-democracy activists claim that Pemuda Pancasila, which is widely regarded as a thugs-for-hire organization, was actively involved in the attack on the PDI building.
Irawan said Yorrys told police investigators the Jakarta Military Command had tasked him to secure a school near the PDI headquarters, as well as the residence of then-women's affairs minister Mien Sugandhi and the Palestinian Embassy. The lawyer said Yorrys had also been ordered to "mobilize the masses" at the grounds of the Artha Graha building near the Jakarta Police headquarters before the attack commenced.
"That was also ordered by the Jakarta Military Command," said Irawan. At the time of the incident, the Jakarta Military Command was led by Lieutenant General Sutiyoso, who is now the governor of Jakarta. Irawan told police they must interrogate the military officers who gave the orders.
The attack on the PDI headquarters was conducted by hired thugs, backed by the military and police. The purpose of the assault was to remove supporters of ousted PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, who had been inside the building. In the ensuing anti-government and anti-military riots, several people were killed and many went missing.
Analysts say the attack was an effort to repress pro-democracy activists and to silence critics of then-president Soeharto and his ruling Golkar Party. Coincidentally, the month before the attack, Soeharto had given his blessings to a Pemuda Pancasila congress.
Irawan admitted Pemuda Pancasila has always been close to the security forces, but denied the organization was close to a certain political party. "Yorrys admits that one of Pemuda Pancasila's tasks was to help the government. At that time, Yorrys did not know there would be an attack on the PDI headquarters," he claimed.
Pakpahan names masterminds
In a related incident, head of the Indonesian Workers Prosperity Union (SPSI) Muchtar Pakpahan, who was charged with subversion and jailed following the July 27 riots, yesterday urged the government to admit that he was wrongfully imprisoned, and to arrest the real masterminds of the unrest. "Of course it was not me. General Feisal Tanjung, General Syarwan Hamid the former Attorney General Singgih were the masterminds of the July 27 incident," Pakpahan told reporters at Handayani Restaurant in East Jakarta yesterday.
At the time of the unrest, Tanjung was Indonesian Armed Forces commander, while Hamid was the military's chief of socio- political affairs.
Pakpahan first ran into trouble with Soeharto's authoritarian regime in April 1994, when he was blamed for labor demonstrations in Medan, North Sumatra, and sentenced to four years jail. In September 1995, the Supreme Court released him. But in October 1996 the release order was canceled and Pakpahan remained in jail from then until Soeharto's successor B.J. Habibie released him in late May 1998.
"After the incident of July 27, 1996, I was arrested on July 30 at midnight by Military Police, accused of being the leader and mastermind of the incident. I was not tried but was put in jail for two years. I need my good name restored, and furthermore, I will sue the National Police for Rp27 billion [US$3.47 million]," said Pakpahan. He said that while police investigators have arrested former PDI leaders Soerjadi and Buttu Hutapea, as well as Yorrys, authorities will not lay their hands on him now because they know he has done no wrong.
"Unfortunately, the masterminds – as I have mentioned before – General Feisal Tanjung, General Syarwan Hamid former Attorney General Singgih, all are still free."
Pakpahan's lawyer Meh Bob has filed a claim to the South Jakarta District Court, requesting that he be declared free from guilt, so the government will be able to restore his name. "I remember that my client was suffering from a tumor in his lung when he was arrested. Because of that and because there was no trial, the government or police must compensate him for the cost of his medical treatment and the salary he did not receive while in jail," said Bob. He said if police continue to arrest only minor players, and remain too scared to detain generals, they will fail to uncover the whole scenario of the July 27 case.