50 political convicts to be released: Muladi
50 political convicts to be released: Muladi
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie will soon release up to
50 political prisoners or detainees, including East Timorese and
Acehnese activists, Minister of Justice Muladi said on Monday.
In a presidential decree, the President will grant amnesty to
prisoners and drop charges against detainees. Muladi was quick to
point out that the President would not include jailed East
Timorese Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, despite international
pressures.
"Xanana is included in the process of East Timor settlement
negotiations, which we hope can be solved too," Muladi said after
meeting with Habibie at Merdeka Palace.
When asked about the precise date of the amnesty, Muladi only
replied, "I hope it will be issued during this Ramadhan fasting
month."
The President released at least 68 prisoners only two months
after replacing Soeharto in May, including labor activist Muchtar
Pakpahan and Sri Bintang Pamungkas.
Muladi said in June that at least 150 political prisoners were
still behind bars.
Amnesty International said in its report earlier this month
that the government had failed to fulfill its pledges on human
rights and democracy, and was resorting to the repressive
measures used by former president Soeharto's regime.
Amnesty said Habibie had come to power in May 1998 with a high
profile agenda for political and human rights reform which had
delivered early positive results, including the release of 120
political prisoners.
"Six months later, the Indonesian government appears to have
lost sight of its commitments to respect human rights and for
greater transparency and political participation," the report
said.
Several human rights organizations have criticized the
government for failing to release Muslim political prisoners and
the leaders of the outlawed People's Democratic Party.
"Those who will receive amnesty will include members of the
Aceh security disturbance movement, and several of them will also
have their names cleared," Muladi said. (prb)