'Death penalty is legitimate'

'Death penalty is legitimate'

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Agency for Pancasila Propagation R. Soeprapto defends capital punishment, saying that it is lawful and does not conflict with the state ideology.

"Pancasila defends human dignity with law enforcement and so long as the laws permit it, capital punishment is no problem," he told Antara yesterday.

Debates over the relevance of capital punishment have resurfaced along with the wide press coverage on this week's execution of Kacong Laranu, 63, in Central Sulawesi.

Kacong was found guilty of murdering four family members: Sirajuddin, 44, his wife Siti Ramlah, 43, and two of their children, Erni, 9, and Fitria, 8, in Donggala in 1985.

The former sergeant major was executed by a firing squad nine years after he was convicted of killing the four people. Kacong had exhausted all legal channels for a reprieve, including a request for a presidential pardon.

Human rights campaigners Todung Mulya Lubis and H.J.C. Princen have reiterated their objections to capital punishment, saying that the death sentence is inhumane and does not give the convict an opportunity to repent.

Soeprapto said the death penalty still exists in Islamic countries, Singapore and even in the United States, which claims to be the world's champion of democracy.

Serious offenses punishable by death according to the Indonesian legal system are serial killings and subversion.

"Laws permitting the death penalty can be reviewed if that kind of punishment is considered no longer relevant," said the former Jakarta governor and member of the People's Consultative Assembly.

He said killing is undoubtedly a serious offense and a convicted murderer deserves the maximum penalty.

Soeprapto said human right activists and the public alike should defend the victims of murder and not focus only on whether the death penalty is relevant. (pan)