Justice Adi says he will accept Soeharto's decision<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto, whose whistle
\nblowing tarnished the Supreme Court, said he would not fight his
\ndismissal if President Soeharto endorsed it.<\/p>\n
\"I will surrender and accept whatever decision the President
\nmakes,\" Adi was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday after he
\nmet a group of students hunger striking to support his campaign
\nagainst collusion in the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Adi said he anticipated that he may lose his job as deputy
\nchief justice for general crimes. He will reach retirement age in
\nnine months.<\/p>\n
\"I won't contest the decision, I will surrender,\" he said.
\n\"But take note, even though I'm no longer a justice I will still
\nfight for justice and truth at all costs because this is the path
\nthat Allah will surely bless.\"<\/p>\n
\"I can still teach, I can write articles or books on
\ncollusion, for instance,\" he said, smiling. \"Through teaching or
\nwriting I can continue my fight.\"<\/p>\n
Adi sparked controversy earlier this year when he alleged that
\ncollusion and bribery were rife in the Supreme Court. Chief
\nJustice Soerjono denied the allegation, saying that an internal
\ninvestigation had found no evidence to substantiate his claims.
\nSoerjono insisted that the investigation found that there were
\njust \"violations of procedures\" in the way cases were parceled
\nout to groups of judges.<\/p>\n
The chief justice then ordered Adi to make no further
\nallegations, claiming that his actions were undermining the
\nintegrity of the court. Adi refused to back down. The differences
\nbetween the two men in the highest judicial body soon became
\npublic. During most of the affair, Soerjono refused to speak
\ndirectly with the press, giving court spokesman Toton Suprapto
\nthe task of handling the media.<\/p>\n
The justices' differences climaxed earlier this month when
\nMinister\/State Secretary Moerdiono revealed that President
\nSoeharto had received a letter from the chief justice proposing
\nthat Justice Adi be discharged.<\/p>\n
One lawyer and over 20 students are hunger striking to protest
\nthis proposal.<\/p>\n
Adi on Saturday insisted that \"there were efforts to cover up\"
\ncollusion in the highest judicial body. He did not say why court
\nofficials were trying to cover it up.<\/p>\n
\"But I couldn't just stay silent,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that his relationship with Chief Justice Soerjono
\nhad cooled.<\/p>\n
\"We went to the same law school, stayed in the same dormitory,
\neven ate from the same rice bowl,\" he said. \"After the uproar
\nabout collusion, our relation went bad.\"<\/p>\n
Adi refused to speculate why Soerjono stayed silent throughout
\nthe affair, even though speculation is rife that the chief
\njustice is directly involved in collusion.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Antara reported that one of the six law students in
\nMataram, Lombok, who have been on hunger strike since Wednesday,
\ncollapsed on Friday and is now in hospital. Yulita, the only
\nfemale student in the group, has received intravenous treatment
\nbut still refuses to eat or drink.<\/p>\n
In Bandar Lampung, Lampung, one of five hunger striking
\nstudents has also collapsed. There are no new reports on the
\ncondition of the ten students who went on a hunger strike last
\nweek in Purwokerto, Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"I have called on all the students to stop hunger striking
\nover this collusion case in the Supreme Court,\" Adi said. \"That
\nis not the way to fight for a cause.\"<\/p>\n
Adi said that the Supreme Court must clean up its act to
\nregain people's trust: \"I don't mean getting rid of its people
\nand everything...there are still many decent judges and officials
\nthere.<\/p>\n
\"What we can do is ask those who are known to be involved in
\ncollusion, although it's hard to prove, to resign,\" he said.
\n(swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/justice-adi-says-he-will-accept-soehartos-decision-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}