[Kabar-indonesia] Retired general mired in Labor Party issue

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Retired general mired in Labor Party issue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police questioned Tuesday former Military Police commander
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Syamsu Djalal over the defamation charges
he brought against Labor Party secretary-general Sonny
Pudjisantoso.

Accompanied by four lawyers, Syamsu gave his statement to
police in a 30-minute session.

Syamsu, who is the Labor Party's deputy chairman for program
division, filed the defamation charges early October over an
article published in Rakyat Merdeka daily on Sept.30 that
was based on an interview with Sonny.

In the article, Sonny was quoted as saying that Syamsu was
attempting to overthrow party leader Muchtar Pakpahan and
had recruited people and formed the "Team 14" opposition
group.

The team, as stated in the article, rejected the results of
the party's first congress, held from May 27 to 29, which
appointed Muchtar as leader and Sonny as secretary-general.

Syamsu said after being questioned by police that everything
reported by the daily was a lie.

"It's not true. It's slander," he said.

The article also says that Sonny had established a Committee
for the Salvation of the Labor Party, and quoted him as
saying that anyone who was planning to take over the party's
leadership would be thrown out of the party.

Syamsu's lawyers reported Sonny to police for allegedly
violating the Criminal Code articles on defamation, slander
and improper conduct, which carry a maximum penalty of four
years' jail.

Of the 27 new political parties recently established, only
two have registered with the Justice and Human Rights
Ministry, including the Labor Party.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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