What to expect from Ambon's judiciary<\/p>\n
The moustached judge had no intention of playing hero.<\/p>\n
Upon receiving notification that he would be transferred to
\nhis hometown in war-torn Ambon, Maluku, two years ago, J.
\nHehamoni tried to stall, saying he intended to study for his
\ndoctorate in Denpasar.<\/p>\n
But the then minister of justice, the late Baharuddin Lopa,
\ntold his subordinates: "He's Ambonese, he has to go."<\/p>\n
So Hehamoni went to Ambon after received the decree on his new
\nassignment, with his tearful wife.<\/p>\n
On their first day in the capital she immediately repacked
\ntheir bags the minute she heard a volley of gunshots. "The
\nneighbors laughed and laughed," he said. "They said, 'the shots
\nare still so far away! Pack later when they get closer!'"<\/p>\n
Hehamoni joined the district court, bringing the number of
\njudges there to three. Now the court has six judges -- though it
\nmay soon be three again with Hehamoni and two colleagues due to
\nbe reassigned.<\/p>\n
After his time in Maluku, Hehamoni, currently the district
\ncourt's spokesman, has a few tips to share.<\/p>\n
One, stay cool.<\/p>\n
Two, "One must be very wise and look carefully at the
\npolitical nuances behind the legal issues."<\/p>\n
Keeping cool and being wise proved extremely useful the day a
\ngroup of Laskar Jihad (LJ) members filled Hehamoni's fairly small
\ncourtroom and pointed at him, shouting, "This is an RMS judge,
\nkill him!"<\/p>\n
RMS, or the Republik Maluku Selatan, refers to the separatist
\nmovement that was active in the 1950s and was perceived to be
\nChristian dominated. The issue of the RMS was revived by some
\nduring the recent conflict in Maluku.<\/p>\n
Hehamoni, the only available judge to preside over the tense
\nhearing, finally refused to order the release of LJ leader Ja'far
\nUmar Thalib.<\/p>\n
Criminal charges against Ja'far were being heard by the East
\nJakarta District Court, which had earlier ordered an extension of
\nhis detention. Ja'far was arrested in Surabaya on charges of
\nprovoking violence while in Ambon in April 2002, allegedly
\nleading an attack on a Christian village.<\/p>\n
The court, however, approved Ja'far's objection to an order
\nfrom the local prosecutor's office to detain him in Ambon.
\nHehamoni said the order was legally flawed.<\/p>\n
A third tip for future judges in Ambon, which Hehamoni did
\nnot mention, would be to make sure you have some extra stamina
\nwhen you are the only judge trying 168 alleged supporters and
\nmembers of the RMS in the short period determined by the
\ndetention deadline.<\/p>\n
For the marathon hearings of the alleged RMS members, in which
\nmost of the defendants were charged with subversion, Hehamoni
\nsaid: "The witness pleaded with me to be relieved of his task,
\nbut he was about the only witness we had for all the cases."<\/p>\n
Hehamoni says a potential time bomb in the province is
\ndisputes over property rights, as people begin returning to their
\nhomes only to find them occupied by refugees.<\/p>\n
This is a pressing matter that must be anticipated, he said.<\/p>\n
Judges in Ambon and other conflict areas need not be heroes,
\nbut they do need a bit of steel in them. A lawyer here,
\nexplaining the shortage of judges, said: "Who wants to be in the
\nspotlight, holding the gavel announcing court verdicts in
\ncritical cases?" -- Ati Nurbaiti<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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