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