LAKSAMANA.Net, April 18, 2004 11:53 PM
Review - Regions: Aceh Corruption Charge
Laksamana.Net - Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh said Thursday (15/4/04) he was
ready to face questioning by the provincial martial law administration over allegations
of involvement in several corruption cases.
"As an Indonesian citizen who is not immune to the law, any person must accept
(questioning) if he or she needs to be investigated legally. This includes me if
necessary," Puteh said in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
The statement came amid widespread speculation that martial law authorities would
summon him for questioning over alleged graft offenses, following the arrest of the
Puteh administration's finance bureau head TM Nizan on April 10.
Nizam is being grilled by intelligence officers from the Aceh martial law authority
following a report by the Development Finance Audit Body (BPKP) that the Puteh
administration embezzled Rp30 billion ($3.5 million) in funds for electricity equipment
procurement.
Puteh denied being involved in corruption. "I have always coordinated with legislative
council in creating projects. I have never done it unilaterally," he said.
Nasir Djamil, a member of the Aceh legislative council, said there was evidence of
widespread corruption. "Huge funds have been allocated from the budget to fight
poverty. But most villages remain poor. Where has the money gone? It must have
been corruption," he said.
A spokesman for the martial law authority, Col. Ditya Sudarsono, declined to say
whether his office would summon Puteh for questioning. However, he confirmed it had
been given authority to arrest or detain corruption suspects since Aceh was placed
under martial law in May 2003.
He said corruption investigators would be appointed at the recommendation of the
Aceh Prosecutor's Office, who would later hand over the dossiers of suspects to
police before they were taken to court.
Meanwhile troops killed eleven alleged Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels
during clashes between soldiers and the rebels in five different districts of Aceh on
Wednesday (14/4/04).
Lt. Col. Asept Sapari, spokesman of Aceh's military operation, said the eleven rebels
were killed in shootouts in North Aceh, Pidie, Bireuen, South Aceh and East Aceh
districts.
Troops seized several rifles and dozens of rounds of ammunition from the dead men,
Sapari said, adding that the military suffered no casualties. During the operations four
GAM rebels also surrendered, he said.
On Saturday (17/4/04) the military claimed it had shot another two rebels after for
GAM members took seven people hostage when they took refuge from a military
ambush. The seven hostages were released safely. Another of the GAM rebels was
believed to have been wounded in the incident.
Police Accuse GAM
Police on Tuesday (13/4/04) arrested six suspects they said were part of a network of
Aceh separatists involved in an abortive attempt to bomb the Macan Yaohan mall in
Medan last month.
Two more suspects believed to be the masterminds of the bombing attempt are still
being hunted, Medan Police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Maruli Siahaan said.
The six were arrested separately at various places in Medan this month, Siahaan
said. They were identified as M. Nur alias Raju alias Bodrin, Ridwan, Frizal Wahyu,
Charial Husen, Ismail and Syafrizal.
Raju, 27, an alleged bomb maker, confessed he had agreed to assemble the bomb for
a fee.
He had only received Rp3.5 million ($410) and was asked to get the remainder from
another suspect, Syafrizal, he said.
"I was the one who set the timer. I was given the authority to do it. I was not ordered
to detonate the bomb at a certain time," Raju said.
An employee found the bomb. It was tied together with two detonators, nine batteries
and a timer but failed to explode due to a low battery charge.
The police had earlier requested assistance from two members of the FBI to
investigate the bomb.
E. Java Labor Protest
Around 1,800 workers from household appliance company PT Kyung Dong Indonesia
(KDI) in Sidoarjo staged a protest on Thursday at the East Java governor's office in the
provincial capital Surabaya.
They demanded Governor Imam Utomo prevent the closure of the company.
The protesters, members of the Indonesian Metal Workers Federation, arrived on
motorcycles, in trucks and private cars mid morning. They unfurled several posters
and banners that read, "uphold justice and pay attention to the plight and rights of
workers" and "no to mass dismissal and stop discriminating against workers".
They urged the governor and the Minister for Manpower and Transmigration to
intervene in PT KDI's planned closure.
Damianus, vice chairman of the federation, said the group had staged the protest at
the governor's office in the hope that the governor would intercede in the affair on
behalf of the 1,762 workers.
Heightened Alert in Poso
President Megawati Sukarnoputri called on authorities in Poso regency to be on high
alert against possible renewed attacks that could jeopardize the security situation.
"The president called on security personnel here to monitor the situation in the
regency second by second," Rully Lamadjido, deputy governor of Central Sulawesi
province, told reporters after a teleconference between the president and seven
provincial government officials and police on the security situation.
During the teleconference on Thursday (15/4/04), the president also asked about the
latest situation in the troubled regency of Poso, where a string of shooting incidents
over the past three weeks has killed two people -- one a local clergyman -- and injured
eight others.
Rully said local officials welcomed Megawati's comments and were ready to beef up
security in Poso. "We will immediately conduct a reassessment in order to improve
our methods and note our strengths and weaknesses in securing Poso."
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha informed Megawati during the
teleconference that the situation in Poso was under control. He said the police had
named several suspects in the recent shootings.
One of the suspects, Risman, is suspected of shooting Rosia Pilongo, dean of the
Law School at Sintuwu Maroso University. She was seriously wounded from the
shooting two weeks ago.
Ridha also told Megawati that security personnel in the area were conducting a
door-to-door search for homemade firearms and bombs that could be used by locals
to incite violence.
On Saturday (17/4/04), the search turned up 17 live bombs hidden under a bridge in
Masani village following a tip-off from local residents. The bombs were defused by
police.
Separately, the Central Sulawesi Muslim Defense Lawyers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday
(13/4/04) against Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Dharma Sitepu over Risman's
arrest.
The suit was heard on the same day, presided over by Judge Sugeng Sudrajad.
During the hearing, the lawyers asked that the arrest be declared unlawful and for all
charges against Risman to be dropped.
The lawyers said police who arrested Risman could not provide strong evidence that
he was involved in the shooting.
Muslim groups in Poso declared on Wednesday (14/4/04) that they were not
responsible for the recent string of attacks that had targeted Christians.
Sofyan Farid Lembah, chairman of the Solidarity of Islam Revolutionaries in Poso,
said Muslim groups had always taken a defensive stance and had never taken the
initiative in attacking Christians.
He said irresponsible parties that wanted to undermine the peace in Poso might have
perpetrated the recent attacks.
Meanwhile The Jakarta Post reported that 11 men, all but one immigrants from Java,
have disappeared from the Poso area in the past six months. The report cited a police
memo at the Detective and Crime Directorate of the Central Sulawesi provincial police
headquarters.
The men had earlier been questioned by police after being picked up a routine road
block.
"We initially suspected that they were involved in the recent spate of shootings in
Poso, because they emerged in group shortly after the fatal shootings. But, we
released them due to lack of evidence," said a police official.
UN 'Dragging Heels' on E. Timor
Amnesty International has accused the United Nations of dragging its feet in bringing
Indonesian officers to justice for alleged army-backed militia atrocities in East Timor in
1999.
The human rights group, in a joint report with an East Timor non-governmental body,
the Judicial System Monitoring Program, said the UN Security Council should
consider setting up an international criminal tribunal.
"While the UN is dragging its feet, those responsible for grave crimes in Timor Leste
(East Timor) are free and in many cases are in active military or police service," the
report, received in Jakarta on Wednesday (14/4/04), said.
"It is therefore no surprise that the patterns, if not the scale, of violations witnessed in
Timor Leste have since been repeated elsewhere in Indonesia."
The report said a human rights court set up by Indonesia was "fundamentally flawed".
Out of 18 people brought to trial, only six were convicted, and all but one, former
Governor Abilio Soares, are free pending final appeals.
The court has indicted 369 suspects but more than three-quarters are in Indonesia,
which refuses to hand anyone over for trial. Among them are former Armed Forces
commander and presidential hopeful Wiranto.
New Vote for Lampung Governor
Lampung legislative council is to go ahead with repeat elections for its governor on
May 15, despite strong opposition from some political parties and non-governmental
organizations.
Those opposed to the planned rerun allege its timing is related to the losses suffered
by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the April 5 legislative
election.
A repeat poll could see incumbent governor Oemarsono being replaced by Alzier
Dianis Thabranie who was defeated by PDI-P in the December 30, 2002 election,
which many observers said was held democratically.
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno annulled Thabranie's victory after police brought
graft charges against him. Sabarno also ordered the council to plan new elections,
arguing it was their responsibility.
Thabranie, currently on trial for these offences, has filed a request with the Supreme
Court to review the annulment of his election.
Deputy council speaker Abdul Azib Zanim said on Wednesday registrations for
potential candidates would take place over the weekend.
The plan for a new vote was criticized by several political parties. Safrin Romas, who
heads the Lampung chapter of the National Awakening Party (PKB), said the new
elections were to help PDI-P leader President Megawati Sukarnoputri win the July
presidential election in Lampung.
"We will not bow to Megawati's political whims in such a way. These new elections by
the 1999-2004 council are only a maneuver to get pensions and enrich themselves.
This will (further) damage the image of political parties," Romas said.
Lampung's Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leader Ahmad Junaidi Auli said there
were no strong legal grounds for the current council to hold another vote. Should it go
ahead with the plan, it could spark conflicts among local people, he said.
Copyright © 2000 - 2002 Laksamana.net, All Rights Reserved.
|
