Court drags its feet in hearing Megawati's suit
Court drags its feet in hearing Megawati's suit
JAKARTA (JP): The trial of a lawsuit filed by Megawati
Soekarnoputri against her opponents in the Indonesian Democratic
Party, the government and the military was adjourned for two
weeks yesterday.
"We will take two weeks to think over whether or not the court
has the authority to try the case," Judge I Gde Ketut Sukarata
said in a brief session at the Central Jakarta District Court.
In the lawsuit, Megawati is seeking a court ruling to declare
illegal an Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) congress organized
in June by her rivals with government and military support. The
congress removed her from the PDI chairmanship and named
Soerjadi, whom she replaced in 1993, as chairman.
Although the court has held five hearings of the case since
early August, Judge Sukarata has not reached the stage of
deciding on whether or not to try the case.
The lawsuit was first delayed by a toothache the judge had,
and later by fruitless efforts at an out-of-court settlement.
Megawati's demands for a court injunction for a status quo
ante on the PDI leadership have also been ignored.
The delay plays into the hands of Soerjadi who is becoming
more entrenched as the party's leader as time passes.
In the past few weeks, Soerjadi has represented the PDI at the
General Elections Institute. This week he removed some of
Megawati's appointees at the institute and at the National
Election Committee and appointed his own men.
Judge Sukarata's decision to adjourn the hearing after 10
minutes was jeered by some 200 supporters of Megawati who packed
the courtroom and the adjoining hall.
"Resign if you can't handle the case," one of them shouted.
Supporters
Outside the courthouse, another 500 supporters of Megawati
were yelling support for the deposed PDI leader.
After the hearing, Megawati's chief lawyer R.O. Tambunan
appealed to the crowd for calm and restraint.
"We are fighting for our civil rights here, so I ask you to
respect the court," he said. The crowd dispersed peacefully.
None of the disputing parties turned up.
The lawsuit names as defendants Soerjadi and his secretary
general Buttu Hutapea; all 16 members of Megawati's board who
rebelled; Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, Minister of
Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. and National Police Chief Lt. Gen.
Dibyo Widodo.
Tambunan told reporters that negotiations to settle the case
out of court had made some headway with the representatives of
the government and the military, but reached a deadlock with
representatives of Soerjadi and other PDI leaders.
Lawyers for the defense argued that the PDI leadership was an
internal party affair and could not be decided in court.
Lawyers for the government and the military said the district
court had no authority in judging the government's decision in
recognizing Soerjadi as the legitimate leader of the PDI.
Tambunan said the failure to settle the leadership dispute
internally was the very reason for Megawati's decision to seek a
court ruling. "We have wasted our time (in trying to settle the
case ourselves). It must be settled by a district court."
He pointed out that in Semarang, Central Java, the local
district court has agreed to hear a similar case filed by
Megawati's supporters against the Soerjadi camp. (16)