District court rejects lawsuit against Soerjadi
District court rejects lawsuit against Soerjadi
JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court rejected
yesterday a lawsuit accusing the chairman of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) Soerjadi, his cadres and the government of
being responsible for the July 27, 1996, takeover of the PDI
headquarters.
The panel of judges, headed by Judge Abas Soemantri, rejected
the suit saying it was "obscure" since not all those accused were
proven to be present or responsible for the takeover.
Judges said none of the witnesses could confirm if Soerjadi
had been at the scene of the takeover on Jl. Diponegoro No. 58.
However, the judges said the plaintiffs could file an
individual lawsuit or appeal to the higher court.
A lawsuit was filed by 98 supporters of the toppled PDI leader
Megawati Soekarnoputri, against Soerjadi and his cadres including
Buttu R. Hutapea, Romulus Sihombing, Harsoko Soediro, Yahya Theo
and Alex Widia Siregar, and the government comprising the Armed
Forces Commander, Indonesian Police Chief, City Police Chief and
the Central Jakarta Police Chief.
The plaintiffs demanded Rp 100 million compensation each and
confiscation of the defendants' property, including their houses.
They also demanded a public apology from the defendants.
Megawati was ousted as PDI chief by Soerjadi in an
extraordinary congress in June 1996.
But she brushed aside Soerjadi's claim to the chair as her
supporters retained a strong hold on PDI headquarters on Jl.
Diponegoro.
On July 27, a hostile takeover of the building took place
which later flared into a riot, claiming at least five lives with
23 people still missing.
The 98 people who filed the suit were among those detained by
police for more than four months following the incident.
Yesterday's verdict was met with screams of protest from pro-
Megawati supporters. Megawati herself was not present.
Megawati supporters packed the courtroom's gallery and seemed
ready to lunge toward the judges' stand before one person called
on his colleagues to remain calm.
Judges quickly rushed out of the courtroom following their
verdict.
Trimedia Panjaitan, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, was not
satisfied with the verdict.
"Testimonies had clearly revealed that all the defendants,
from Soerjadi to Alex were present during the incident (yet) it
was not treated as legal consideration," he argued.
Dissatisfied supporters later continued to rally at the
courtyard under the watchful eye of police who had created a
tight security cocoon around the courtyard.
While the crowd were boisterous, no major incidents were
reported. (09)