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Berthy
Loupatty: "Kopassus? They often asked me to get things
done"
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TEMPO
Magazine, No. 29/III/March 25 - 31, 2003
March
31, 2003
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Berthy Loupatty: "Kopassus? They often asked me to get things
done"
ABNER Wemy Loupatty looked bitter when TEMPO interviewed him on Thursday.
TEMPO met the leader of the "Cool Dudes Gang," known as Berthy, 36, in the North
Jakarta Court detention cell before the court session began. Dressed in jeans and a
blue jacket, in a high-pitched voice he claimed to have been tortured in a police
interrogation, making him withdraw his confession. Excerpts from the interview:
Why did you withdraw the record of your confession before the court?
It was all lies. I was forced to confess to be the mastermind behind the bombing and
attack, although I didn't know anything, I cannot talk. The investigator then told me to
take off my clothes, but I refused. They got angry, and they cursed in Ambonese and
they punched me. Because they kept on torturing me, I said, OK then, let my records
of confession be similar to the other guys'.
Was it true there was a meeting at your home before the attack?
It was all fabricated. The Soya attack, for instance. I live in Kudamati, a long way from
Soya. The police investigator lived in Kayuputih police barracks, about an hour from
Soya.
Didn't your subordinates conduct the interrogation?
Hans Nanlohi was tortured. They pulled his nails off. (Hans, who was in the cell,
showed two of his disfigured thumbs). Who could stand that kind of torture? All of my
men were tortured. Even Marthin Wushing alias Amstrong was interrogated before the
village toughs. He was forced to confess. Amstrong seconded him ("I could have been
killed if I didn't admit," said Amstrong, who was in the cell).
Where were you when Soya was attacked?
I heard about the attack from a Maluku Police intelligence officer who constantly kept
an eye on us. He lived 4 meters from my house.
What about the accusation that you and a Kopassus member committed acts of
terror?
It is all lies. I'm always on the street, so I know well what happened. Kopassus's
movements in Ambon are limited. That's why they often asked me for help.
What kind of work did you do with Kopassus in Ambon?
I was asked to spy on Alex Manuputty, head of the Maluku Sovereignty Front. I
helped the republic a lot by spying on the movements of the South Maluku Republic.
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