Adi's dismissal case receives more apposition

JAKARTA (JP): Chief Justice Soerjono's insistence on firing Deputy Chief Justice for General Crimes Adi Andojo Soetjipto met with further strong public opposition yesterday.

Twelve law school graduates staged a protest and filed a petition with Soerjono, demanding that he retract his request to the President to endorse his unpopular intention.

"We demand that Chief Justice Soerjono withdraw his proposal to dismiss Adi," Roy Pakpahan, one of the petitioners, told the Supreme Court secretary-general, Toton Suprapto.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono disclosed earlier this month that President Soeharto had received a letter from the chief justice proposing that Justice Adi be discharged.

The move marked the culmination of a public row between Soerjono and Adi over allegations of collusion in the highest judicial body.

Adi insisted that collusion practices were rife, while Soerjono said there was no evidence to support the claim. The chief justice later ordered Adi to desist from making further allegations, claiming that his actions were undermining the integrity of the court.

Pakpahan said that Soerjono has denied Adi the right to defend himself over the proposed dismissal.

He also said that Soerjono had banned Adi from examining the final report of the Supreme Court investigation team over the alleged collusion.

He accused Soerjono of trying to divert public attention from the collusion allegation to Adi's dismissal.

"Adi was charged with insulting the Supreme Court, while the alleged collusion remains unsettled," he said.

The law school graduates, calling themselves the Alliance of Law School Graduates for Justice, demanded the reopening of the investigation into the alleged collusion by an independent body, preferably formed by the People's Consultative Assembly.

The alliance also demanded that Soerjono resign because he was not qualified enough to lead the Supreme Court and did not take appropriate action to purge collusion.

Meanwhile Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Indonesia, questioned Soerjono's legal grounds for asking for Adi's dismissal.

Quoting article 11 of Law No. 14/1985 on the Supreme Court, Yusril said a justice can be dismissed because of serious illness, death, incapability, or at the justice's own request.

"Adi's proposed dismissal meets none of the conditions," he said.

He said that Soerjono's proposal has put President Soeharto in a difficult position.

"The President has to take care that the image of the Indonesian legal system doesn't deteriorate further. But on the other hand, he also has to ensure Soerjono and the other justices who signed the request do not lose face," he said.

Separately, the United Development Party (PPP) warned yesterday that the Supreme Court's credibility is at an alarmingly low level now because of the internal conflict.

Hamzah Haz, who chairs the PPP faction in the House of Representatives, called on the house leadership to do something to help the highest judicial body get out of the hot water.

"People are marching in the streets and students are going on strike in protest at the chief justice's plan to sack Adi Andojo. It is a somewhat dangerous development," he told reporters.

The Moslem-oriented party also proposed that Indonesia adopt a law that states to whom the Supreme Court is accountable so that people would know who has the authority to intervene in disputes. (imn/pan)