REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Former defense minister and commander of the then Indonesian armed forces, retired General Wiranto, stated on Thursday that the kidnapping of activists in 1998 was the personal initiative of Prabowo Subianto. 

Prabowo, then commander of the army's special Kopassus forces, had taken the initiative and had personally admitted it, Wiranto said. The issue had become a hot button issue following Prabowo's participation in the presidential election scheduled on July 9.

"I remember when I asked in person the then lieutenant general Prabowo on who had given him the order (to abduct the activists), he admitted that it was not the order of the armed forces commander but his own initiative taken based on his analysis of the situation then," he said.

Wiranto said when the abduction happened between mid-December 1997 and February 1998, the commander of ABRI (armed forces) was (the late) General Feisal Tanjung. 

Wiranto pointed out that when the case was unveiled around March 1998, he had just then taken over the post of ABRI commander from General Feisal Tanjung. So, he could not comprehend why Prabowo (during a presidential debate recently) had asked the public to clarify the issue with his superior.

"It must be understood that the policy of the then ABRI commander to deal with activists and demonstrators were persuasion, dialog, and communication, while at the same time avoiding violent or repressive methods. So, abduction was clearly against the policy of the leadership then," he said.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika