Jakarta, a Prabowo loyalist behind the plan to assassinate security leaders

Former general Kivlan Zen, now in custody due to illegal possession of weapons. The testimonies of the suspected assassins key to arrest. Two ministers targeted, the head of intelligence, a presidential adviser and a pollster. The material mastermind behind the attempted assassination received money from Zen to buy weapons and cover expenses.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Former general Kivlan Zen (photo), political ally of Prabowo Subianto, is the instigator of the plan to assassinate national security leaders. The Indonesian police made the announcement based on the interrogation of two suspected assassins. The plot came to light the day after the riots that devastated Jakarta between May 21 and 22. The violence followed the publication of the election results, which confirmed the defeat of Prabowo and the reconfirmation of President Joko Widodo.

Supported by Islamists and conservative groups, the opposition still refuses to recognize the defeat by denouncing fraud and irregularities in the vote. Prabowo has appealed to the Mahkamah Konstitusi (Mk) - the Indonesian Constitutional Court.

In the days before the election results were announced, Prabowo had repeatedly urged voters to express their dissent, raising the authorities' fears. Even prominent figures linked to Prabowo, such as the former Gen. Kivlan and fundamentalist lawyer Eddy Sudjana, had threatened to resort to street protests against Widodo and the General Electoral Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum - Kpu).

The day after the riots of May 21-22, the authorities started a wave of arrests that led to the detention of the two who accused Kivlan. They confessed to having received the order to kill Gen. Wiranto, minister coordinator for political, legal and security affairs; Budi Gunawan, head of the Badan Intelijen Negara (Bin), the State Intelligence Agency; Gen. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, minister coordinator for maritime affairs; Gories Mere, member of the President's Special Council for Security and Intelligence from the former army officer.

Kiylan, who is currently in custody due to illegal possession of weapons, told local media that he was unaware of the matter. But in a video testimony shown to the press by the police, one of the suspects reports that the former general gave the hired assassins 55 million rupees (3,850 US dollars), through the murder's material organizer, Haji Kurniawan. Kivlan also suggested that the killers use a rifle and a gun. Kurniawan testified that he received 11,000 dollars to buy weapons and pay the costs of completing the murders. The suspects stated that Kivlan had also ordered them to monitor the home of the famous pollster Yunarto Wijaya. Six people have so far been arrested on charges of being involved in the plan.