40 Acehnese political prisoners released<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Only three days before President B.J. Habibie's
\nvisit to Aceh, the government announced on Tuesday the release of
\n40 Acehnese political prisoners on the condition they pledge
\nallegiance to the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice Muladi said their release was effected by
\nHabibie in decree No. 13 dated March 17. He acknowledged the
\ndecision was intended to create a conducive atmosphere for the
\nPresident's visit.<\/p>\n
\"I think an atmosphere of reconciliation, a conducive spirit,
\nneeds to be created so that Pak Habibie will not be talking
\nnonsense (in his visit),\" Muladi said after accompanying Habibie
\nin a meeting with a delegation from the International Commission
\nof Jurists at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
The President is scheduled to pay a one-day visit to Aceh on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
In decree No. 14, Habibie also granted clemency to blind
\nMuslim preacher Hussein Ali Al Habsyi. He was sentenced to life
\nin 1991 for masterminding a series of bombings, including a 1985
\nexplosion at Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
The government said the acts were part of a campaign to
\nestablish an Islamic state.<\/p>\n
Habibie also agreed to release Hasbi Abdullah, jailed for 17
\nyears for subversion.<\/p>\n
The Acehnese prisoners, jailed for actions related to the Free
\nAceh movement, are obliged to pledge and sign the following
\nstatement: \"I swear to be faithful to Pancasila as the state
\nideology, the 1945 Constitution, the decrees of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly, and all other prevailing laws\".<\/p>\n
The decree on Hussein and Hasbi does not contain the
\nobligation.<\/p>\n
Eight of the Aceh separatists were sentenced to 20 years in
\njail, including Tengku Zulkarnaini and Tengku Bantakia; six to 15
\nyears, including Yunus Mahmud; six others for 12 years, including
\nSyaiful Bahri, and two for eight years, among them Nazaruddin.<\/p>\n
Bantakia reportedly cultivated marijuana to finance the
\nseparatist movement. Six of the people were sentenced in 1991,
\nwhile seven were convicted last year.<\/p>\n
With the release of the 42 convicts, Muladi said the
\ngovernment had freed 202 of 240 political convicts.<\/p>\n
The minister promised the government would release about 10
\nformer members of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI)
\non the grounds of advanced age and because they were imprisoned
\nmore than 30 years.<\/p>\n
\"They are already quite old, so for humanitarian reasons we
\nwill free them and, apparently, they have also changed.\"<\/p>\n
He said he did not know how many accused PKI members were
\nstill in the nation's prisons. Three are in East Jakarta's
\nCipinang Prison.<\/p>\n
Muladi also disclosed that it was nearly impossible for the
\ngovernment to release leaders of the Democratic People's Party
\n(PRD), including its chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko and secretary-
\ngeneral Petrus Hari Haryanto.<\/p>\n
Muladi stated the stumbling block was Budiman's demand that
\nHabibie grant them general amnesty and release all political
\nprisoners as the condition for his release.<\/p>\n
Legally there is only clemency and amnesty, Muladi said, which
\nboth imply admission of guilt, which is not contained in a
\ngeneral amnesty.<\/p>\n
The two were sentenced to 13 years and six years respectively
\nfor masterminding riots on July 27, 1996, following the forced
\ntakeover of the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party,
\nthen headed by Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
PRD is one of 48 political parties permitted to contest the
\ngeneral election in June.<\/p>\n
Muladi said he was not informed if internationally acclaimed
\nauthor Pramoedya Ananta Toer was still subject to a travel ban.
\nHe has been invited to the United States for the launching of a
\ntranslation of his books and to receive an honorary doctorate
\nfrom the University of Michigan.<\/p>\n
\"If he has been released without condition, then his passport
\nmust be given to him and there should no longer be a travel ban
\non him,\" Muladi said.<\/p>\n
Pramoedya was jailed without trial for 14 years until 1979 for
\nhis links to PKI's literary wing. His travel ban was lifted in
\n1997, but immigration officials have declined to confirm whether
\nhe remains on a list of thousands banned from traveling overseas.<\/p>\n
Also on Tuesday, Habibie gave permission for five members of
\nthe jurist commission to visit several provinces to obtain
\nfirsthand information on the implementation of laws in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"But due to their limited time, they will only visit Aceh and
\nSouth Sumatra,\" said Adnan Buyung Nasution, a commission member
\nfrom Indonesia, citing two provinces with rampant rights
\nviolations. (prb)<\/p>",
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