Death of law enforcement
Death of law enforcement
From Rakyat Merdeka
Although the year 2001 has passed and 2002 has just begun, the
prospects for law enforcement and respect for human rights are
still not bright in this country.
The administration of Megawati Soekarnoputri, which holds the
overall mandate for reform, including law enforcement among
others, has yet to demonstrate its political will to uphold the
law. Law enforcement has merely become a piece of rhetoric and
even a political statement that carries with it no follow up
action.
No alleged corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) cases or
human rights violations have been seriously prosecuted. The
government prefers to make political settlements rather than
bringing the cases to court, as seen in the KKN cases allegedly
committed by former president Soeharto. President Megawati
prefers granting an abolition to Soeharto over prosecuting him
based on the prevailing law, an act which is a betrayal of the
people's sense of justice and violates the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) stipulation on the investigation of KKN violations
allegedly committed by former president Soeharto. If this
abolition is really awarded to him, it could become a black mark
in the history of the country's law enforcement and become the
signal for the death of the country's law enforcement.
It has been shown that Megawati's administration has no clear
concepts and agendas or the political will to uphold the law and
human rights. Good law enforcement can support the creation of a
political and economic system as well as restore the trust of
local and international communities.
Based on the reality referred to above, Komunitas Pengacara
Jakarta (the Jakarta's Lawyers Community) urges Megawati's
administration to:
1. Concentrate more on law enforcement and the eradication of KKN
so that economic and political life will soon recover.
2. Settle the prosecution of alleged instances of KKN committed
during the administrations of Soeharto, BJ Habibie and
Abdurrahman Wahid, particularly the cases of Buloggate I and II.
3. Finalize the legal process relating to human rights violations
in East Timor, Aceh, Papua, Jakarta (the tragedies of July 27,
Semanggi, Trisakti) and elsewhere.
4. Reject the awarding of an abolition to former president
Soeharto as it could set a bad precedent in the history of the
country's law enforcement.
PASKALIS PIETER
Jakarta