All citizens equal before law<\/p>\n
Indonesia finally has an attorney general who has the
\nprofessional confidence and integrity to act decisively to
\nensure that the nation's laws are enforced fairly, and he is
\ncriticized by, of all people, someone who revels in his
\nreputation as a champion of the victimized, Mr. Adnan Buyung
\nNasution. His reputation notwithstanding, Mr. Nasution seems all
\ntoo comfortable moving from one side of the room to the other
\n-- from the corner of those who are oppressed to the dining
\ntables of those who exploit the oppressed and manipulate the law
\nfor personal profit. Does anyone else doubt that the attorney
\ngeneral has reasonable, good-faith grounds for his preliminary
\nconclusion that Mr. Sinivasan of Texmaco may have improperly
\nobtained special government facilities for his company because of
\nhis past friendship with Mr. Soeharto?<\/p>\n
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman has made it clear in his
\npublic statements that Mr. Sinivasan of Texmaco is a suspect
\nonly, has not yet been proved guilty of a crime and is presumed
\ninnocent at this stage. Mr. Darusman has also made it clear that
\nas a suspect Mr. Sinivasan will not enjoy a favored position
\nbased on his status or wealth. Shouldn't champions of the
\noppressed like Mr. Nasution be celebrating this bureaucratic
\ndevelopment?<\/p>\n
The attorney general has done what any effective prosecutor
\nwould do; he has acted quickly to limit a suspect's opportunity
\nto flee the jurisdiction. Would Mr. Nasution prefer that his
\nclient had been physically detained? We have all watched the
\nparade of other crony conglomerati who in the past two years
\nsuddenly developed mysterious illnesses that required extended
\ntreatment in the U.S., Australia or Singapore when they became
\ntargets of suspicion.<\/p>\n
Shouldn't all of us who are subject to Indonesia's laws be
\ngrateful for an attorney general who does not tolerate those
\nshameful, sham attempts to avoid the criminal justice system?
\nBut Mr. Sinivasan is only one part of the collusive equation. The
\nother part is Mr. Soeharto. If there is a basis for concluding
\nthat Mr. Sinivasan has violated a law, there should be a
\ncorresponding legal basis for concluding that former president
\nSoeharto has violated the same law. (If there is not, this legal
\nlacunae needs filling immediately). In fact Soeharto's guilt
\nwould be greater, since as president he took a public vow to
\nuphold the laws of the land.<\/p>\n
As a matter of public education Mr. Marzuki Darusman might
\nwant to cite the law that Mr. Sinivasan is suspected of
\nviolating, and promptly deal with citizen Soeharto
\nalso.<\/p>\n
DONNA K. WOODWARD<\/p>\n
Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/all-citizens-equal-before-law-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }