Rallies to protest Akbar's arrest continue in regions<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
About 300 Golkar Party (The Functional Group) demonstrators
\nstaged a rally on Friday in Manado, North Sulawesi demanding that
\nthe Attorney General's Office free Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung
\nfrom incarceration.<\/p>\n
Conducting their rally before the provincial prosecutor's
\noffice in Manado (about 1,300 kilometers east of Jakarta), they
\nclaimed that his detention was more political than legal.<\/p>\n
\"We'll fight against whoever is trying to politicize his
\n(Akbar's) detention,\" said the executive chairman of Golkar in
\nNorth Sulawesi, Joost Th. Patty, who was accompanied by the
\nparty's provincial secretary, Victor Maylangkay.<\/p>\n
He said there was no need to detain Akbar, who was also the
\nspeaker of the House of Representatives, if it was intended for
\nquestioning him. \"We can guarantee that Akbar Tandjung won't run
\naway or destroy evidence during his questioning,\" he claimed,
\nalthough it was made clear how he could issue such a guarantee.<\/p>\n
North Sulawesi's Golkar Chairman A.J. Sondakh, who is also the
\ngovernor of the province, could not attend the rally as he had to
\naccompany Labor Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, who was visiting the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Patty said that North Sulawesi Golkar asked the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office to expedite the investigation and bring Akbar's
\ncase to court by next week at the latest.<\/p>\n
\"If it fails to do so then it'll strengthen our suspicion that
\nthe Attorney General does not have enough evidence and that the
\ncase was politicized,\" he said, adding the Golkar in North
\nSulawesi would continue to recognize Akbar as the party chairman.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, the province's Golkar members also
\nasked the Attorney General's Office on Friday to free Akbar from
\ndetention.<\/p>\n
Around 800 members of a group calling itself the Indonesian
\nYoung Generation (AMPI), which is affiliated with the Golkar
\nparty, also staged a rally on Friday to protest his
\nincarceration.<\/p>\n
They demanded that the Attorney General's Office refrain from
\nbecoming politicized by other parties and only focus on the law.<\/p>\n
The North Sumatra Legislative Council's Golkar Faction
\nSecretary Syahrul M. Pasaribu said that the jailing of Akbar was
\nnot consistent with the Criminal Code article 20, which states
\nthat a suspect can only be detained if he is suspected to; be a
\nflight risk, destroy evidence or repeat their crimes.<\/p>\n
He argued that during his questioning, Akbar was very
\ncooperative and complied with the legal procedure.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the provincial Golkar
\nmembers reacted coolly to the detention.<\/p>\n
\"Let the legal procedure proceed. But we hope that Akbar's
\ndetention is not linked to the Golkar institution. He is our
\nchairman, but in Buloggate II, Akbar was not in his role as a
\nchairman of Golkar. So this case has no relation to Golkar,\"
\nSouth Sulawesi's Provincial Golkar Chairman, Amin Syam told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Legal analysts have speculated that the Bulog money may have
\nbeen used for Golkar election activities in 1999.<\/p>\n
Amin added that at this point, his branch did not think there
\nwas an urgent need to convene a meeting to discuss a plan to
\nreplace Akbar as chairman, because he was only in jail and had
\nnot yet been found guilty.<\/p>\n
\"We still support him as Golkar chairman,\" he said, adding
\nthat the jailing of their party chairman in a corruption scam had
\nnot tarnished the party's image.<\/p>\n
\"The public has been critical. But they can distinguish
\nbetween Akbar as Golkar chairman and Akbar as a person. We don't
\nworry about public opinion,\" he claimed, adding that the Attorney
\nGeneral should continue to follow the law.<\/p>\n
But he warned that nobody should exploit the case to ruin
\nGolkar's image. \"We'll fight against whoever tries to do so,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, dozens of the Alliance of Indonesian Students
\n(Alfonso) in Makassar, held a demonstration to protest Akbar's
\narrest.<\/p>\n
Alfonso's spokesman Ato A. Suharto said that there was no need
\nto detain Akbar before judges issued their verdict in court, and
\nhis case should not be politicized.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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