Law professor says student protest not criminal act<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A legal expert told the court in one of the
\nSoeharto defamation trials yesterday that the 21 defendants broke
\nno Indonesian laws in an anti-government protest last December.<\/p>\n
J.E Sahetapy stressed that the government should not be
\noffended by the posters, slogans and strong-worded statements
\nchanted by the students during the protest.<\/p>\n
\"The students only lodged their complaints. The authorities
\nshould not prosecute them given the fact that the protest did not
\nlead to destruction,\" he told the Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy, a professor at the Surabaya-based Airlangga
\nUniversity in East Java, testified that a demonstration, as long
\nas it does not lead to public unrest, is a necessary component of
\ndemocracy. He likened the student protest to other legal
\npolitical activity.<\/p>\n
Another law professor, Philipus Mandiri Hajon, and noted
\npsychologist Sarlito Wirawan also gave expert testimony.<\/p>\n
\"The authorities should conduct dialog with the students if
\nthey agree to call this country a familial one,\" said Sahetapy.<\/p>\n
The 21 were arrested on Dec. 14 at the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) as they demanded that the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) bring Soeharto to account for a
\nnumber of clashes between the military and civilians.<\/p>\n
According to the prosecution, their criticism of the
\ngovernment amounted to defamation of the President, which is a
\ncriminal act punishable by up to six years in prison.<\/p>\n
The three witnesses testified for the group of six. The
\ndefendants are being tried in three separate groups. The two
\nother have four and 11 defendants respectively.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the posters accusing DPR members of doing
\nnothing but fulfilling their own interests, Sahetapy said that he
\nhas criticized the House but was never reprimanded for his strong
\nremarks published in newspapers.<\/p>\n
Slippery concept<\/p>\n
He said that he wondered why the students were arrested while
\nother anti-government demonstrations involving civilians ended
\nwith no arrests. \"I don't understand why it was the students who
\nwere arrested,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy told the court that defamation is a slippery concept,
\nbecause it requires individual interpretation. What was an insult
\nyears ago is hardly remarked upon today, and what is unjustified
\nslander to one is constructive criticism to another.<\/p>\n
He said that defamation could also be in the form of
\ngovernment policy, citing the example of the travel ban imposed
\non the Petisi 50 dissidents.<\/p>\n
Sarlito told the court that people protest to express their
\ndissatisfaction with the course of the nation.<\/p>\n
He said that students, if compared to other civilians, have
\nbroader vision and greater hope for their ideals, making them
\neasy targets.<\/p>\n
Sarlito said protests are a problem if they do not lead to
\npublic unrest, and believes that protest was the 21's only
\navailable means of expression. It can also be that the students
\nhave avoided staging rallies in communicating their points of
\nview, but received no response, he added.<\/p>\n
He said that persuasive measures are much better than
\nrepressive ones if the government intends to face the students.
\n(par)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/law-professor-says-student-protest-not-criminal-act-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}