Police submit scholar's case to prosecutors<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The police have submitted the dossiers of George
\nYunus Aditjondro to the Yogyakarta prosecutors' office although
\nthe academic, accused of insulting the President, has applied to
\nlive in Australia permanently.<\/p>\n
\"The court can start the trial. We have done our job,\"
\nNational Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro told
\njournalists here yesterday.<\/p>\n
George now teaches Asian Studies at Murdoch University in
\nPerth. Earlier this week, the West Australian newspaper reported
\nthat he wanted to reside permanently in Australia.<\/p>\n
George, a lecturer at the Satya Wacana Christian University in
\nSalatiga, arrived in Perth as a visiting fellow at the university
\nin February. At the time he was under investigation by the
\nYogyakarta police.<\/p>\n
The West Australian reported that he alleges he could not
\nreturn to Indonesia for police questioning because the judicial
\nsystem in Indonesia is unjust and his case had been pre-
\ndetermined.<\/p>\n
Authorities say that George, who is known to take a critical
\nstance on the government's policy on the troubled East Timor,
\nmade slanderous remarks on Indonesia's economic and political
\npractices in a seminar in Yogyakarta last year.<\/p>\n
Banurusman said that it is up to the Yogyakarta court to
\ndecide whether it will seek to extradite George, who is also
\nknown as a human rights campaigner.<\/p>\n
His refusal to return to Indonesia and answer the charges has
\nprovoked mixed reactions from all quarters. Legislators from the
\nruling Golkar party have called him a \"coward and hypocrite.\"<\/p>\n
Sixty seven Australian academics have said in a petition filed
\nwith the Indonesian government that the George case was a
\n\"continuation of the intimidation leveled against him for his
\ninvestigative research on human rights violations and
\nenvironmental degradation in East Timor and Irian Jaya.\"<\/p>\n
Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said yesterday
\nthat the George affair should not affect the relations between
\nIndonesia and Australia.<\/p>\n
\"The problem must not cause a row between Indonesia and
\nAustralia,\" he told journalists before attending a monthly
\ncabinet ministerial meeting.<\/p>\n
Consultation<\/p>\n
Attorney General Singgih said he needs to consult with the
\nminister of foreign affairs to decide whether the government
\nwould seek to extradite the scholar.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Australia have an extradition treaty.<\/p>\n
Alatas, talking to journalists before attending the cabinet
\nmeeting, said that at this level, it is the police who are
\nhandling the George affair.<\/p>\n
\"We will see if we can use the (extradition) pact to extradite
\nhim,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Salatiga, George's lawyer Budi Hartono said his client has
\nevery right to seek a permanent resident status in Australia or
\nanywhere else he wishes.<\/p>\n
\"I can fully understand why he wants to reside permanently in
\nAustralia with his family,\" said the lawyer form the Yogyakarta
\nbranch of Indonesian Legal Aid institute.<\/p>\n
He said George's refusal to return to Indonesia would make it
\ndifficult for the police and the court to handle the case
\nbecause to extradite him would not be an easy job.<\/p>\n
In a telephone interview with the Suara Merdeka newspaper in
\nSemarang on Tuesday, George said that although he want to stay
\npermanently in Australia, he would not change his citizenship.<\/p>\n
\"Please note that I have no intention of seeking political
\nasylum. I'll remain an Indonesian citizen and still love
\nIndonesia in my own way,\" he was quoted as saying. (bsr\/har\/pan)<\/p>",
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