Manhunt for subversives continues<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After capturing Budiman Sudjatmiko of the
\nDemocratic People's Party (PRD) for allegedly masterminding the
\nJuly 27 riots, the military has vowed to continue its hunt for
\nsubversives.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said yesterday the
\nauthorities were tracking down the culprits who used Budiman as a
\npuppet to further their political goals.<\/p>\n
\"The authorities mean to clamp down on them to prevent the
\nemergence of new Budimans,\" Feisal was quoted as saying by the
\nchairman of the Laskar Ampera Arief Rachman Hakim foundation,
\nYusril Yusan.<\/p>\n
The foundation's members include former student activists from
\n1966 who played a pivotal role in the birth of the New Order
\nadministration under President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Feisal said Budiman and the other PRD activists now in custody
\nrepresented \"the front line\" threat. He said the second line must
\nbe crushed because it would breed \"new troublemakers like
\nBudiman\".<\/p>\n
The authorities captured Budiman and nine other activists on
\nSunday and early Monday morning. They have been accused of
\ninciting the July 27 riots.<\/p>\n
Separately, spokesman for the Attorney General's office Pontas
\nPasaribu said his office had started questioning the PRD leaders
\nfacing subversion charges.<\/p>\n
The 1963 subversion law stipulates that any person aiming to
\nsew hatred against the government or change the state ideology
\nPancasila could face the death sentence. It allows detention of a
\nsuspect for up to one year without trial.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (LBH) criticized
\ninvestigators from the attorney general's office for not allowing
\nthree defense lawyers to meet their clients, Garda Sembiring and
\nBenny Sumardi, who are in custody.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson for LBH Dewi Novirianti said the investigators
\nhad turned away the defense lawyers from LBH and the Jakarta
\nSocial Institute on the pretext that the suspects needed no
\nlawyers at their present stage of questioning.<\/p>\n
\"The Attorney General's office trampled on articles 54, 59 and
\n61 of the criminal code procedures which guarantee that a
\ndefendant has the right to be accompanied by lawyers at all
\nstages of investigation,\" Dewi said.<\/p>\n
The law states that anyone facing 15 years or more in jail has
\nthe right to be accompanied by lawyers and be visited by
\nrelatives, Dewi said.<\/p>\n
Adding to the defense lawyers' dismay was the prosecutors'
\nrefusal to give them copies of the arrest warrants for the
\nsuspects. The prosecutors promised that they would send the
\ndocuments later.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid
\nInstitute Bambang Widjojanto urged the authorities yesterday to
\nuphold the presumption of innocence for the detained political
\nactivists.<\/p>\n
\"The government should stop charging that the PRD activists
\nare communist because it punishes the defendants although they
\nhave not been convicted by a court of law,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
He said the various government officials who have told the
\npublic to beware of non-governmental organizations showed a lack
\nof political maturity.<\/p>\n
\"The call denies increasing public demand for greater
\ndemocracy in Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The police yesterday questioned another two senior legislators
\nfrom the Indonesia Democratic Party (PDI), Soetardjo
\nSoerjogoeritno and Sabam Sirait, as witnesses in Budiman's case.<\/p>\n
In another development, Soetardjo and Sabam said they were
\nquestioned on their participation in the free speech forums at
\nthe PDI headquarters and on their relationship with Budiman.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the rectors of six government and private
\nuniversities in West Java issued a joint-statement that they
\nwould dismiss their students who were PRD members or
\nsympathizers.<\/p>\n
\"We do not want our campuses to be infiltrated by a dangerous
\nideology brought by students who have been active in anti-
\ngovernment protests,\" read the joint statement, as quoted by the
\nMerdeka daily.<\/p>\n
The statement was issued after a meeting of the six rectors in
\nresponse to a call by Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
\nDjojonegoro. He had asked the rectors of Indonesian universities
\nto take firm action against any of their students involved with
\nPRD activities. (imn\/16\/pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/manhunt-for-subversives-continues-1447893297",
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