Court urged to drop charges against four price proterters

Court urged to drop charges against four price proterters

JAKARTA (JP): Ten lawyers asked Central Jakarta District Court
yesterday to drop the charges against four activists who joined a
peaceful demonstration on Jl. M.H. Thamrin on March 9.

Trimedya Panjaitan said the defendants, identified as students
Kuldip Singh and Widy Wahyu, reporter Wandy Nicodamus Tuturoong
and workers' activist Farah Diba Agustine, who participated in a
protest demanding price reductions, could not be charged under
Article 5 of the Law No. 5/1963 on political activities.

"It's ironic that the prosecutor still uses the law, which was
created under the Old Order. The law banned political activities,
which opposed socialism under the late president Sukarno's
government," said Trimedya from the Indonesian Legal Aid and
Human Rights Association.

He said the four defendants also could not be tried under
Article 218 of the Criminal Code for ignoring police orders since
they were arrested in a bus shelter in front of Sarinah shopping
center after the demonstration.

Police officers approached the defendants when they were still
waiting for a bus and forced them to go to Menteng Police
station, he said.

"Hi, you come with me to the police office. My chief was angry
because I did not arrest you," Trimedya quoted one of the police
officers who arrested the defendants as saying.

The four defendants who are believed to be supporters of the
jailed leader of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI)
Muchtar Pakpahan, denied that they had participated in any
political activities, saying that it was just a peaceful
demonstration which protested staple food price hikes.

"The demonstration also did not disturb public order since it
took place in the shopping center's compound. Many shoppers
applauded us," Kuldip, 26, said.

Nicodamus, 26, a reporter of the Sinar Pagi daily, said that a
traffic jam on the street only occurred after police officers
started to block the street.

Widy, a 23-year-old student at the private Nasional
University, said he believed the judges would free them of all
charges if they themselves heard complaints from their wives
about the price hikes.

Kuldip, Nicodamus and Widy have been detained since their
arrest, while Farah, 21, was detained for 11 days before being
temporarily released on her family's request.

Presiding judge I Nyoman Putra adjourned the trial until
Wednesday to hear the prosecutor's reply. (jun)