Activists briefly held for moeking politicians

Activists briefly held for moeking politicians

Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police briefly detained two activists for handing out cotton
buds to legislators that they said never listened to the common
people.

The cotton buds were slipped under the doors of rooms at Hotel
Mulia near the Assembly premises, where most legislators taking
part in the People's Consultative Assembly session stay.

They were held on charges of "disturbing" the lawmakers on
duty.

Each cotton bud was put inside a small plastic wrapping
labeled "Special cotton bud for Indonesian Assembly members". The
other side of the wrapping read: "Huh, why do you never listen to
the people's aspirations? So clean your ears before attending the
session!"

The activists were identified as Pista Alisah and Yani
Kristanti of the Coalition of NGOs. They also handed the earwax
removers out to legislators at the upscale hotel.

The NGOs have been critical of the legislators' deliberations
over the past week, especially on the constitutional amendment.

The pair were reported to the police by the hotel's security
guards who secretly watched them on the 17th floor, their fellow
activists said. No legislator was reported to have any objection
to what the activists did.

They had managed to distribute the buds to 150 rooms when the
hotel's security guards chased them into the elevator and
confronted them.

The hotel's security guards handed them over to the police on
duty who then rushed the women to the Jakarta City Police
headquarters, ignoring activists' bitter protests.

Pista and Yani were released after being queried for about two
hours. They were required to be available any time the police
needed them for further questioning.

Smita Notosusanto, executive director of the Center of
Electoral Reform (CETRO), condemned the police action, saying the
police had no legal basis for the arrests since there was no
complaint from the legislators.

"We had committed no crime. We have done this sort of campaign
for three years and only now have we been arrested," said Smita
at the Assembly building.

The incident forced the NGOs' to cancel a media briefing on
their objections to the constitutional amendment that the
Assembly is set to endorse.