Megawati to obey second summons<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The ousted chief of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty, Megawati Soekarnoputri, confirmed yesterday that she will
\nappear before the police investigating the recent riots as
\nrequested by the amended summons sent to her on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati will go to the City Police headquarters at 9 a.m. on
\nFriday,\" one of Megawati's lawyers, R.O. Tambunan, said yesterday
\nat Megawati's home in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said Megawati had agreed to answer the second summons,
\ndated August 5, after the police corrected an earlier summons.<\/p>\n
According to the revised summons, a copy was made available to
\nThe Jakarta Post, Megawati will be questioned as a witness for
\nthe defamation charges leveled against the student activist and
\nchairman of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), Budiman
\nSudjatmiko.<\/p>\n
The first summons only stated that Megawati would be
\nquestioned in connection with \"crimes committed between June 17
\nand July 28 this year\".<\/p>\n
The crimes were related to the \"free speech forums\", which
\nwere held daily after Megawati was ousted in June by her rival
\nSoerjadi in a government-backed rebel congress.<\/p>\n
The first summons did not name the suspects which Megawati was
\nexpected to testify against.<\/p>\n
Tambunan said the second summons, in contrast with the earlier
\none, correctly named Megawati as a member of both the House of
\nRepresentatives and the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
Tambunan, however, said that his client would again request
\nthe details of the Presidential approval for the questioning
\nbefore she would answer to the police. He argued that the police
\nmust have authorization from the President to question a House
\nmember.<\/p>\n
Megawati's stance was criticized yesterday by Attorney General
\nSinggih who said that an order for interrogation from his office
\nwas sufficient.<\/p>\n
According to Law No. 3\/1970 on police investigation, the
\npolice do not need a presidential approval to interrogate
\nMegawati, Singgih said.<\/p>\n
He said his office had summoned many House or Assembly members
\nwithout an approval from the President: \"Mentioning that the
\nPresident approves the summons is enough. The summons doesn't
\nhave to be attached with the actual letter of approval.<\/p>\n
\"Why don't they believe that the President has given his
\napproval?\" he said. \"Before the law, House and Assembly members
\nand officials of other high state institutions are the same as
\nother Indonesians.\"<\/p>\n
Riots<\/p>\n
Yesterday, government investigators continued questioning
\npolitician Ridwan Saidi who has been detained by the attorney
\ngeneral's office since Monday.<\/p>\n
Ridwan, a former legislator from the United Development Party,
\nnow chairs the Indonesian People's Assembly; a loose coalition of
\nnon-governmental organizations.<\/p>\n
Controversial soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho was also
\nquestioned yesterday in connection with the riots involving
\nMegawati's supporters on July 27.<\/p>\n
Another person being questioned is labor activist Muchtar
\nPakpahan, who was once charged with subversion. He chairs the
\nIndependent Prosperous Labor Organization.<\/p>\n
Separately yesterday, the government-sanctioned Federation of
\nAll Indonesian Workers Union denounced the riots and the people
\nit said had masterminded them.<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief told workers not to be
\ninfluenced by the propaganda \"launched by leftist groups intent
\non creating disturbances and political instability\".<\/p>\n
The political observer and vice governor of the military
\nthink-tank National Resilience Institute, Juwono Sudarsono, has
\ncalled on the government to find the roots of the social problems
\nwhich had caused the riots, rather than hastily accuse communist
\nactivists of being behind the incident.<\/p>\n
\"Poverty seems to be the major factor that triggered the
\nincident,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Juwono said that the PRD might have used \"the language of the
\ncommunists in their activities...but what's important is to
\nsee ...the widening gap between the rich and the poor, which has
\nprevailed for too long.\"<\/p>\n
\"If people are poor and injustice prevails, communism or any
\nother radical movement will be here to stay,\" Juwono said,
\nquoting the late Mohammad Hatta, Indonesia's first vice
\npresident.<\/p>\n
He said, only the upper class enjoyed political stability.<\/p>\n
\"For the poor, stability is something that restricts their
\nefforts to voice their suffering,\" he said. \"People become
\nviolent when they're fed up with seeing rich people getting
\nricher and richer from nepotism and facilities.\"<\/p>\n
It has nothing to do with the political system, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I think the political system itself is good. But it has never
\nbeen implemented properly,\" he said. (imn\/rms\/sim\/16)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-to-obey-second-summons-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}