Three labor activists charged with subversion<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): Hundreds of police officers guarded the
\nSurabaya district court building, and 16 truckloads of soldiers
\nwere stationed nearby, as one of the biggest political trials
\never to come to the city began yesterday.<\/p>\n
Two men and a woman -- all activists who organized a series of
\nlabor strikes and protests -- were arraigned in the court
\nyesterday, charged with subversion, an offense punishable with
\ndeath.<\/p>\n
Dita Indah Sari, 23, and Coen Husein Pontoh, 26, are being
\ntried in the same hearing while M. Soleh, 21, is being tried
\nseparately. Dita heads the Center for Indonesian Workers
\nStruggle, Coen is coordinator of the National Farmers Association
\nand Soleh is an executive of the Indonesian Students Solidarity
\nfor Democracy.<\/p>\n
All three organizations, according to the prosecutors, are
\nunder the umbrella of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), whose
\nleaders are being tried on subversion charges in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The three defendants are charged with attempting to subvert
\nthe state and topple the legally elected government through their
\nactivities in Jakarta, Surabaya and other cities throughout the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
In the course of their activities, they sought to repeal five
\npolitical laws and the 1963 anti-Subversion Law with which they
\nare now being charged, according to the prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\"They undermined the Pancasila and the state to achieve the
\npolitical goals of the PRD,\" according to the dossier read in
\ncourt yesterday.<\/p>\n
The three also face lesser charges, like sowing enmity and
\nhatred against the government.<\/p>\n
They were arrested early in July after organizing two major
\nworkers' protests, each one involving some 10,000 people from 10
\nfactories at the Tandes industrial estate in the southern suburb
\nof Surabaya.<\/p>\n
The protests, in which they demanded the minimum wage of
\nworkers in Surabaya be raised to Rp 7,000 from Rp 5,200, ended
\nviolently when the military met strong resistance when they tried
\nto disperse the crowd. There were no deaths, but some of the
\nprotesters, including Dita and Coen, were injured.<\/p>\n
The three defendants have retained Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, a
\nleading human rights lawyer, along with a host of other lawyers,
\nto represent them in court. (25\/emb)<\/p>",
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