Precedence: bulk
Straits Times [Singapore]
Saturday 8 January 2000
PRABOWO 'IN SECRET VISIT TO JAKARTA'
JAKARTA -- Retired lieutenant-general Prabowo Subianto, who
was dismissed from the armed forces in disgrace in the aftermath of the
May 1998 riots that helped topple his father-in-law Suharto, made a
secret visit to Jakarta this week, newspapers here reported yesterday.
Gen Prabowo, who once headed the powerful Army Strategic Reserve
Command (Kostrad), ended his three-day visit on Thursday and later flew out
to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
His close friend, Mr Fadli Zon, said Gen Prabowo had entered
Indonesia from Singapore, where he had been visiting his ailing father,
noted Indonesian economist Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, in hospital.
Mr Fadli said Gen Prabowo had met the current Kostrad chief,
Lieutenant-General Djaja Suparman, as well as Army Chief of Staff General
Tyasno Sudarto.
The armed forces has officially denied any knowledge of the
meeting of the generals.
In a statement carried by the Indonesian Observer, quoting the
online service DetikCom, armed forces spokesman General Sudrajat said: "I
don't know about it. If Prabowo did come to Jakarta and held a meeting
with...Tyasno, I would have known."
The Media Indonesia daily speculated on Thursday that Gen Prabowo
had been meeting senior military figures here to try to close a reported
rift in the top brass of the Indonesian armed forces.
It was not mentioned whether Gen Prabowo had visited former strongman
Suharto, whose health is failing.
Now a resident of Jordan, where he runs a business, Gen Prabowo
was dismissed by then armed forces chief General Wiranto after an inquiry
into the kidnapping and disappearance of political activists during Mr
Suharto's last months in power. -- AFP
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