Wiranto Explains Rumor on Prabowo's Dismissal from Military

Jakarta (Antara) - Former military chief General (ret) Wiranto explained at a press conference on Thursday about the rumor surrounding the dismissal of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto as Commander of Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) back in 1998. Wiranto said he did not want to use the term "honorable discharge" or "dishonorable discharge" with regard to the dismissal of Prabowo from the military. "The dismissal of Prabowo from the military was due to his involvement in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists when he was still the Commander of Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in 1998. Such action was deemed as a violation of military rules and several articles on the Criminal Law. With such fact, there is no need to argue on the status of his dismissal. Let the people judge by themselves," Wiranto said. He explained Prabowo was dismissed after an investigation was conducted by the members of Military Officers Honorary Council (DKP). Through a series of trials, Wiranto said, the DKP confirmed the involvement of Prabowo in the kidnapping. The DKP then recommended the dismissal of Prabowo, while the members of his team, who conducted the kidnapping in the field, were prosecuted in the military court. Wiranto also explained about the dismissal letter of Prabowo, which was leaked recently in the social media. He suspected that a former military general was behind the leak. Wiranto denied accusations that he was responsible for leaking the letter to the public. He said it was impossible to possess thousands of official letters circulating in the military office. "All administrative letters are kept at the military headquarters. Besides, the kidnapping of activists in 1998 was a public case. Hence, the documents do not solely belong to the military but also to the public," he added. (*) Reported by Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga Translated and Edited by Amie Fenia Arimbi