Police break up hunger strike, arrest 41<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police broke up a hunger strike at the
\nIndonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) compound yesterday and
\narrested 41 activists protesting the recent ban of three major
\nweekly magazines.<\/p>\n
Among the detainees are two activists who intended to go on a
\nhunger strike and five women. The strike was meant to push the
\ngovernment into reversing the ban against the DeTIK, Tempo and
\nEditor magazines, which were closed down late last month.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said the police entered the foundation's Central
\nJakarta compound late in the afternoon when the activists
\nwere beginning their strike.<\/p>\n
Two truckloads of police officers, led by chief of the Central
\nJakarta Police Precinct Lt. Col. Dadang Garnida, arrived on the
\nscene and asked the protesters to disperse in order to avoid
\n"creating public unrest", according to eyewitnesses. A truck
\nladen with troops later joined the police.<\/p>\n
YLBHI officials rejected the police's request on the grounds
\nthat the activity was being held inside the foundation's own
\ncompound.<\/p>\n
The activists defied the order and then ignored the 20-minute
\ngrace period they were given to disband. Instead they held a
\nsilent protest by sitting on the ground and holding hands until
\nthe police forcefully dispersed them. One activist was reportedly
\nbeaten by police officers for pointing at them and shouting "long
\nlive the police."<\/p>\n
A source at the Central Jakarta Police Precinct confirmed the
\narrests and told The Jakarta Post last night that 25 of the
\ndetainees had been sent to City Police Headquarters.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a group calling itself the Women's Group for Press
\nFreedom, together with DeTIK's editor-in-chief Eros Djarot and
\nnoted poet W.S. Rendra separately visited factions in the House
\nto deplore the ban and the use of force by the military against a
\ngroup of demonstrators on June 27.<\/p>\n
The factions representing the ruling Golkar grouping, the
\nArmed Forces (ABRI) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\npledged to study their demands in order to formulate follow-up
\nactions.<\/p>\n
Oversight<\/p>\n
Eros told members of the Golkar faction, which supports the
\nJune 21 ban, that the government never responded to his request
\nregarding the changes required in the terms of the magazine's
\npublishing license -- an "oversight" which led to the
\npublication's closure. Instead of banning the magazine, Eros
\nsaid, the government should have invited the magazine in for a
\ndialog.<\/p>\n
He also asked the faction to support calls for a judicial
\nreview of regulations considered harmful to the press.<\/p>\n
Tempo lost its publishing license for its editorial content
\nwhile DeTIK and Editor lost theirs because their operations
\nviolated the terms of their publishing licenses. The government
\nsaid that the magazines had ignored its repeated warnings.<\/p>\n
In the meeting with the ABRI faction, the women's group, which
\nincluded prominent figures such as Zumrotin K, Julia Suryakusuma
\nand Wardah Hafidz, reached an agreement with the legislators who
\npromised to mediate in order to allow the women to meet with the
\nCity Military Commander Maj. Gen. Hendropriyono.<\/p>\n
It was revealed during the meeting that officers from the City
\nMilitary Command had been deployed to quell the June 27 protest.<\/p>\n
The women, who urged the faction to investigate the beatings
\nthat reportedly occurred during the incident, claimed that at
\nleast five protesters were badly injured by officers who used
\nbatons to attack them.<\/p>\n
In the meeting with the ABRI and PDI factions, Rendra
\nexpressed his disappointment with the implementation of several
\nregulations which restrict the freedom of speech.<\/p>\n
Noted lawyer and human rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution,
\nwho also attended the meeting, questioned the government's
\nstatement which said that any person not satisfied with the ban
\ncould file suit at the Administrative Court.<\/p>\n
"Why should the government 'kill' them (the magazines) and
\nthen tell them they can file suit?" he asked.<\/p>\n
Another noted lawyer and human rights advocate, Luhut M.P.
\nPangaribuan, challenged both factions to hand the Indonesian
\nLegal Aid Institute, of which he and Buyung Nasution are
\nexecutives, a letter of attorney to file a request for a judicial
\nreview.<\/p>\n
Both factions said they would think it over. Two legislators
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), however, said they
\nwould sign such a letter in their private capacities. (par\/rah\/jsk)<\/p>",
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