'Justice' delayed by toothache<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri's desperate quest for
\njustice in her fight to retain her leadership of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) was held back yesterday -- by a toothache.<\/p>\n
A court hearing of her petition at the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court had to be adjourned because the chief judge who
\nwas to try the case had a toothache.<\/p>\n
Megawati had filed a civil lawsuit asking that the court
\ndeclare the government-sponsored PDI congress in Medan in June
\nillegal, and therefore its results void.<\/p>\n
The suit names the government and Soerjadi, who was elected to
\nreplace Megawati at the Medan congress, as co-defendants.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's hearing, the first in the case, came in the wake
\nof the violent takeover of the PDI headquarters by supporters of
\nSoerjadi from Megawati supporters.<\/p>\n
\"The hearing is adjourned until Aug. 22, because Chief Judge I
\nGede Ketut Sukarata has a toothache,\" Zulkifli Lubis, a member of
\nthe panel of judges, declared as the hearing was opened.<\/p>\n
To prove his point, Lubis showed a copy of the order by
\ndentist D. Gunawan of the Tamansari subdistrict in West Jakarta
\nordering the judge to rest for three days.<\/p>\n
Megawati was not present at the hearing. She was represented
\nby a team of lawyers led by R.O. Tambunan.<\/p>\n
Alexander Litaay, the PDI secretary-general under Megawati who
\nremains loyal to her, was seen in the court.<\/p>\n
The court announcement drew an angry response from Megawati
\nsupporters who had packed the court room. Several hundred others
\nwere waiting outside the court building, on the usually busy Jl.
\nGajah Mada.<\/p>\n
There was a strong presence of anti-riot police and troopers,
\nsome seated in armored cars, ready to clampdown on any sign of
\ndisturbance. Senior military officers have said they would issue
\nthe order to shoot on sight at the first sign of a riot.<\/p>\n
Still, the shops in the area were not taking chances
\nyesterday. Most stayed closed the entire morning.<\/p>\n
After the court was adjourned, the crowd dispersed peacefully
\nin compliance with the police order.<\/p>\n
Megawati's lawyers have said the violent riot at the weekend
\nshould have expedited the court hearing so that a decision, one
\nway or another, could be made and the conflict settled. The
\nlawyers had earlier asked that Megawati be allowed to keep the
\nPDI headquarters pending a court decision.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the authorities continued yesterday with their
\ninvestigation into the weekend rioting.<\/p>\n
Union leader Muchtar Pakpahan underwent a marathon
\ninterrogation at the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
The government sought to determine his role in the series of
\n\"free-speech\" forums held at the PDI headquarters last month that
\nturned into a forum to attack the government, his lawyers said.<\/p>\n
Muchtar is the fifth person brought into the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office for questioning since Monday. The others were
\npolitician Ridwan Saidi, soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho,
\nMegawati's younger sister Sukmawati Soekarnoputri and deputy
\nchairman of the established United Indonesian Democratic Party
\nJulius Usman.<\/p>\n
But unlike the other four, the authorities have issued an
\narrest warrant for Muchtar, although they did not give any
\nspecific charge other than saying that he was wanted for
\nquestioning regarding the activities of the Democratic People's
\nParty (PRD).<\/p>\n
Muchtar's lawyers said their client was also being questioned
\nabout his links to PRD, whom the military blamed for the riots on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two separate bomb threat calls were received in
\nJakarta yesterday. The first caller claimed there was a bomb at
\nthe Mulia Tower office building on Jl. Gatot Subroto and the
\nsecond on the Semanggi Cloverleaf. Both turned out to be hoaxes.<\/p>\n
The threats also spread to Surabaya yesterday, where five
\ncalls were made. The targets -- again, all hoaxes -- were BRI
\nPlaza, BCA Darmo Building, the Hyatt Hotel, Tunjungan Plaza and
\nTuri market.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told The
\nJakarta Post yesterday that detectives had begun examining
\ndocuments seized from the PRD secretariat in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We found some books and printed materials that contained
\ncommunist teachings,\" Iman said, referring to Monday's raid on
\nthe PRD office. \"These will be used as court evidence,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The military has said that PRD is \"synonymous\" to PKI, the
\nIndonesian Communist Party, which was banned in 1966 after being
\nblamed for the coup d'etat the previous year.<\/p>\n
Police, however, have yet to arrest any of the PRD leaders,
\nwho are believed to have gone into hiding since the Saturday
\nriot.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, the military raided the secretariat of the PRD's
\nEast Java chapter on Wednesday night, but found none of the PRD
\nactivists and no important documents inside the house.<\/p>\n
\"We temporarily have to shut down the PRD secretariat, pending
\nfurther police investigation,\" Chief of the East Java Regional
\nMilitary Command Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo said yesterday.
\n(imn\/bsr\/16\/15)<\/p>\n
Legislators -- Page 2<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>\n
Stocks -- Page 11<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/justice-delayed-by-toothache-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }