Ex-Pertamina employees sue former president Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Five former employees of state-owned oil and gas
\ncompany PT Pertamina filed a lawsuit on Friday demanding three
\ndefendants, including former president Soeharto, pay some Rp 5.75
\nbillion (US$714,300) in compensation for their dismissal from the
\ncompany in 1968.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit was filed by the plaintiffs' lawyers Otep Ginanjar
\nand Hendrikus Kuntag at the Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
Pertamina fired Ali Basir, Abdul Haris, Parta bin Karyadi,
\nAhmad Saudi and Satriya on Aug. 6, 1968, after they were
\nidentified as former members of the left-wing Oil Workers Union
\n(Perbum).<\/p>\n
Perbum was controlled by the now outlawed Indonesian Communist
\nParty (PKI).<\/p>\n
The lawsuit accuses the company of dismissing the employees
\nwithout proper grounds.<\/p>\n
\"The company tipped the five former workers as Perbum members
\nafter they found their names on Perbum's charity list,\" according
\nto the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The three defendants in the lawsuit are PT Pertamina, the
\ncompany's former president director Ibnu Sutowo and Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, then an Army major general, was mandated in March
\n1966 by then president Sukarno to restore order in the country.
\nOne of the steps taken by Soeharto was the dissolution of all
\norganizations associated with PKI, including Perbum.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit claims the former workers were not involved or
\nassociated with PKI.<\/p>\n
\"They were merely mentioned as members as Perbum .... The
\ncompany could not provide evidence that the five former workers
\nwere involved in the abortive coup attempt believed to have been
\nsponsored by PKI,\" the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, Perbum was a legal organization
\nbefore it was dissolved in 1966.<\/p>\n
\"The former members could not be found guilty of joining such
\nan organization, which was declared illegal by the government,\"
\nthe lawsuit says.<\/p>\n
The former employees filed a suit against the company at the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court in 1981, but the court threw out
\nthe case.<\/p>\n
At the time, the court ruled it did not have the authority to
\nprosecute the lawsuit and suggested the former employees present
\ntheir case to the Ministry of Manpower.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit filed on Friday accuses former president Soeharto
\nof being responsible for the employees' dismissal because it was
\na policy he introduced as president which led to their being
\nfired.<\/p>\n
\"The policy was against the Constitution. It is the
\nresponsibility of the president,\" the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n
Those found guilty of involvement in PKI's abortive coup
\nattempt received tough sentences, some being sentenced to death
\nand others to life imprisonment. They also had their identity
\ncards stamped \"ex-tapol\", or political prisoner.<\/p>\n
It was a widely known secret that friends and relatives of
\nconvicted PKI members were prevented from entering the
\nbureaucracy or the Indonesia Military.<\/p>\n
The former workers demanded Rp 752 million in material losses
\nfor their lost salaries from August 1968 to December 1999.<\/p>\n
They also demanded Rp 5 billion in non-material losses. (asa)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ex-pertamina-employees-sue-former-president-soeharto-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }