Bintang and Pakpahan join push for reform

Bintang and Pakpahan join push for reform

JAKARTA (JP): Former legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas and
labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan immediately joined the frontline
push for reform just hours after their release from Cipinang
Prison yesterday.

Bintang spoke before students of the University of Indonesia
in Depok on the outskirts of the city at about noon, while
Pakpahan hosted an early morning media conference at his home in
Pulogadung, East Jakarta.

Bintang, who was a lecturer at the university's engineering
school, said he would launch a campaign for total reform on
campuses.

Promising to be relentless in his fight for reform, Bintang
said that in the near future, he would go to the Bandung
Institute of Technology, Bandung Islamic University and the
University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta to introduce his
Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) to students.

He said he would also officially register his party with the
Ministry of Home Affairs on May 30.

Bintang has nominated himself for president in the past and
has not been shy in expressing a readiness to assume to country's
top post.

Pakpahan has not expressed any specific political ambitions
but reasserted a commitment to work for the progress of workers'
rights.

Under the 32-year reign of former president Soeharto, the
government tightly controlled political activity and only
recognized three political organizations -- Golkar, the United
Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party.

Bintang said the government should abolish the former regime's
requirement that all civil servants vote for Golkar.

Golkar has won all general elections over the New Order era
with massive margins, enabling it to dominate the House of
Representatives.

Bintang's first taste of freedom since May 1996 was not spent
lounging at home. He visited the graves of Hery Hartanto and
Elang Mulya at Tanah Kusir public cemetery in South Jakarta.

Hery, Elang and two other Trisakti University students were
shot dead by security forces during a bloody incident on the
university's campus two weeks ago.

Bintang, was sentenced 34 months in prison in May 1996 after
being convicted of insulting Soeharto.

Pakpahan, chairman of the independent Indonesian Prosperous
Labor Union, was sentenced to a four-year prison term for
allegedly instigating a labor riot in 1994.

Prisoners

Their release marks a major departure from the polices of the
government under Soeharto and is expected to be the precursor to
the release of other political prisoners.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Indonesian
Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) yesterday urged the
government to release all political prisoners indiscriminately
and unconditionally.

YLBHI estimates that there are more than 200 political
prisoners in Indonesia, excluding alleged communists.

Bintang himself said Monday that his release marked the
beginning of a campaign to release all his fellow political
inmates.

YLBHI said in a statement yesterday that the government should
pronounce Bintang's and Pakpahan's release as a form of apology
and correction for the mistakes of the former government.

"The government must convey this attitude to the people," the
statement said, otherwise their release could be interpreted only
as a mere cosmetic act to gain international sympathy.

Their formal release from prison yesterday at 1 a.m. came just
hours before the arrival of officials from the International
Monetary Fund to Jakarta.

Minister of Justice Muladi said Monday he was not sure whether
such a statement would be forthcoming.

The fate of other political prisoners would be reviewed on a
case-by-case basis, he said.

He added that it would be a selective and gradual release.

Muladi also said some categories of political prisoners would
not be released, such as those jailed for involvement in the 1965
failed coup and those linked to the outlawed Indonesian Communist
Party.

Political prisoners who engaged in criminal actions and those
who tried to supersede the state ideology Pancasila would also be
excluded.

Jailed East Timor separatist leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana"
Gusmao is one of those not eligible for release since he was
convicted of criminal charges, Muladi said.

Separately, the National Commission on Human Rights discussed
the release of political prisoners during its plenary meeting
yesterday.

The commission, however, would only announce the results of
the meeting today, commission secretary-general Baharuddin Lopa
said. (byg/43)