General's amnesty<\/p>\n
When President B.J. Habibie took office in May, the release of
\npolitical prisoners became a cornerstone of his administration.
\nIndeed, one of his first actions was to authorize the release of
\ndozens of prisoners of conscience under a presidential amnesty.<\/p>\n
This week, Habibie freed 42 more prisoners, bringing the
\nnumber of political prisoners released to date to 202 out of 240
\nincarcerated during the regime of former president Soeharto.
\nMinister of Justice Muladi has since disclosed plans to release
\n10 more prisoners jailed for their role in the 1965 aborted coup,
\nblamed by Soeharto on the now-outlawed Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI). They are to be released on humanitarian grounds because of
\ntheir advanced age and deteriorating health.<\/p>\n
While all of this may look impressive, it does not answer the
\nquestion about the fate of the remaining 38 political prisoners
\nin jail. Why should they continue to serve time for holding
\ndifferent views from the old regime, now widely painted as
\nrepressive and tyrannical?<\/p>\n
Releasing Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao, the jailed East
\nTimor rebel leader, for example, could speed up the process of an
\nEast Timor solution, now that the government has acknowledged his
\nmajor influence in the proindependence movement.<\/p>\n
A telling point was provided by Budiman Sudjatmiko, the
\nchairman of the People's Democratic Party (PRD), who refused an
\noffer of presidential amnesty this week. He argued that an
\nacceptance would be an admission of guilt. Budiman, who continues
\nto lead the PRD from behind bars in the run-up to the June polls,
\nsays he will serve the length of his prison term as a matter of
\nprinciple, and as an expression of solidarity with fellow
\nprisoners of conscience. He insists that a general amnesty be
\nextended to all political prisoners, without any preconditions.<\/p>\n
Indeed, in the absence of any clear criteria about who is
\nentitled to receive a presidential amnesty, it is hard not to
\nquestion the motive behind the government's decision to release
\npolitical prisoners in batches. The timing certainly looks
\nsuspicious. The release of 40 Aceh prisoners just days before the
\nPresident is due to visit the troubled province suggests that
\nthere are motives other than genuine amnesty behind the decision.<\/p>\n
The decision to offer Budiman a presidential amnesty -- which
\nhe rejected -- and to release aging PKI prisoners occurred days
\nafter visiting Germany's Human Rights Commissioner Gerd Poppe
\npersonally asked Habibie. Given that such demands have been made
\nby many local groups, including our own National Commission on
\nHuman Rights, since his first day in Merdeka Palace, one cannot
\nhelp but wonder who are Herr Habibie's real constituencies:
\nGermans or Indonesians?<\/p>\n
Habibie has missed out on a golden opportunity to prove once
\nand for all that he is different from his predecessor, by failing
\nto release of all political prisoners during Soeharto's regime.
\nAlthough the prisoner's convictions followed the due process of
\nthe law, their trials were not fair since the courts were not
\nindependent but were mere tools of the regime, especially in
\npolitical trials. By continuing to detain political prisoners,
\nHabibie is endorsing the repressive policies of his predecessor.<\/p>\n
A general amnesty for all political prisoners, as demanded by
\nBudiman, would be the most appropriate course of action for
\nHabibie to break from Soeharto's policies. Yet, as Muladi
\nexplained, all proposals for presidential amnesty are first
\ndiscussed with the Armed Forces, which takes into consideration
\nnational security issues. Rather than a general amnesty, we seem
\nto have ended up with a general's amnesty.<\/p>\n
What security threat can prisoners in their 70s and mostly in
\npoor health, pose to the nation? A 78-year-old former president,
\nwho retains political and financial clout, and whom many suspect
\nis behind violent unrest in various parts of the country, is a
\nbigger threat. Given the atrocities he had committed during his
\n32 year leadership, he is the real enemy of the state. He is
\ncertainly the enemy of the people. He, not Xanana, Budiman or
\nother political adversaries, should be in jail.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/generals-amnesty-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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