Pramoedya Refuses Attorney General's Summons

Pramoedya Refuses Attorney General's Summons (Sept 20, 1996)

Kabar dari PIJAR [translation revised --agb]

Jakarta, September 20th (KdP)

About 7pm this evening agents from the Attorney General's office returned to the house of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, at Jl. Multikarya II/26, Jakarta. The purpose of their visit was to deliver a second summons to [the writer] in connection with the subversion case against the Democratic People's Party [PRD]. Pramoedya however firmly refused to receive the summons.

When contacted by KdP's reporter about his reasons for refusing the summons, Pram responded, "Until everything that was stolen from me in 1965 is returned-- like my house, documents, and library--I have no business [with them]. As a citizen I refuse to be assigned obligations, while my rights as a citizen have not been restored."

According to Pramoedya his position reflects a reaffirmation of his 1993 declaration that he would no longer carry out his "duty to report" to the security agencies. He said he had "closed the book" on the power [system] of the New Order regime.

When asked about the summons and whether it applied to him as a witness or a suspect, Pramoedya was unable to answer since he had not opened the summons and it had been taken away again by the Attorney General's agents. (MARTIN)