Law enforcement in 1995 pitiful, says YLBHI<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A respected legal aid body noted that the many
\ncases of mass violence this year were a result of the restricted
\nrole and ability of the law to deal with both latent and manifest
\nsocial conflicts.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) noted in a year-
\nend evaluation that collective violence -- such as riots in East
\nTimor, Purwakarta, Pasuruan, Pekalongan, Jenggawah and Trenggalek
\n-- had a destructive and disintegrating effect on the public.<\/p>\n
Mulyana W. Kusumah, the executive director of the body, stated
\nthat existing laws are unable to \"accommodate latent social
\nconflicts, or prevent and overcome the escalation of manifest
\nsocial conflicts\" caused by tensions among religious, racial and
\nsocial groups.<\/p>\n
\"The implementation of the function of the law as a means to
\nbuild social integration\" is still lacking, Mulyana concluded.<\/p>\n
The critical statement, a copy of which was made available to
\nThe Jakarta Post, was issued yesterday.<\/p>\n
Mulyana pointed out that law enforcement has failed to address
\nthe roots of many problems and this failure is particularly
\napparent in cases of abuse by the authorities.<\/p>\n
Human rights violations, such as those which occurred in
\nLiquisa, East Timor in January were treated merely as \"procedural
\nmistakes\" by the authorities.<\/p>\n
That approach, he said, \"fails to address the essence of the
\nproblem, namely the existence of a politics of violence\".<\/p>\n
The body also noted that the year has been marked by
\ndiscriminative law enforcement. \"The enforcement of laws as a
\nmeans to establish good governance should be improved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The discrimination occurred, in particular, for \"white-collar
\ncrimes\" such as corruption, Mulyana said.<\/p>\n
\"It is very clear that law enforcers found difficulty in
\ndealing with various types of corruption, despite the fact that
\nthe state has experienced great financial loss because of these
\ncrimes,\" Mulyana said.<\/p>\n
Recorded data at the Attorney General's Office, the Supreme
\nAudit Agency (BPK), and the Development and Finance Control
\nAgency (BPKP) shows increasing financial loss suffered by the
\nstate from year to year, Mulyana said.<\/p>\n
He also described the weaknesses of law enforcers when dealing
\nwith organized crime such as illegal gambling and drugs
\ntrafficking.<\/p>\n
\"Efforts to enforce laws against organized crime often amounts
\nto 'the bark of law enforcers' only,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Partial law enforcement was seen as effective in reducing the
\nfrequency of street crimes and restricting their space but failed
\nto touch \"upper world crimes\", he said.<\/p>\n
Mass media has often reported on the arrest of drug
\ntraffickers which failed to touch the people behind the crimes.<\/p>\n
Mulyana also criticized the Indonesian court as ambivalent,
\nsaying that, on the one hand, it acts as a tool to repress
\ncultural and political expression. On the other hand, the court
\nalso acts as a means to correct government policies.<\/p>\n
As an example of the ambivalence, Mulyana cited the
\nadministrative court which rejected the suit against the
\ngovernment brought by outspoken politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas
\nover his dismissal from the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
At another time, however, the court displayed its independence
\nwhen it ruled in favor of former Tempo employees in their lawsuit
\nagainst Minister of Information Harmoko's ban last year of the
\nmagazine.<\/p>\n
Mulyana said that the future integrity of law enforcement and
\nthe courts depends on whether the legal authorities will be able
\nto correct their weaknesses and ambivalence.<\/p>\n
Only by taking corrective steps can the legal authorities
\nretain judicial independence, he said. (imn)<\/p>",
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