Ex-political prisoners lose court battle

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Efforts by former political prisoners to seek justice for their past suffering were dealt a setback on Wednesday by the Central Jakarta District Court, which said it could not hear the class action lawsuit.

Presiding judge Cicut Sutiarso told a hearing the plaintiffs, many of whom were associated with the former Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), should file their lawsuit with the Jakarta Administrative Court because the case concerned government policies. Under the law, the Administrative Court cannot hear cases filed more than 10 days after a policy comes into effect. Most of the former political prisoners were first jailed by a policy that came into effect more than 30 years ago.

"Although the public has become more critical of government policies, the panel of judges find the court has no competence to hear the case in accordance with the law," Citut told a packed- courtroom.

One of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, Erna Ratnaningsih of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, said she would challenge the verdict at a higher court, because it was the only way to seek justice for her clients.

"The (district) court has closed its door on justice seekers. We are aware that the administrative court will not hear our case because the law says a lawsuit against a government regulation or policy must be filed 10 days after its issuance at the latest," she said.

The class action was filed earlier this year against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his predecessors Megawati Soekarnoputri, Abdurrahman Wahid, B.J. Habibie and Soeharto by 16 people who were jailed for their association with the PKI, which was banned following an abortive coup attempt in 1965.

Claiming to represent 20 million people who had been stigmatized after being made political prisoners, the plaintiffs, including noted author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, demanded the government apologize and formally rehabilitate them. They also sought between Rp 1 million and Rp 10 billion in damages for the stigma they bore after imprisonment, which they said had robbed them of personal belongings, job opportunities and political rights.

Some of the plaintiffs said they did not receive pensions after they were jailed despite their former status as civil servants or soldiers or police officers. All were jailed without trial.

The judges accepted the government's defense argument that the lawsuit should be filed with the administrative court.

The government is currently selecting 21 members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is supposed to settle alleged human rights abuses against the former political prisoners.

Erna said the plaintiffs would keep fighting for justice through the courts.

"We are on the right track. We are not questioning government policies, but the injustice the plaintiffs have experienced and material losses that this has entailed," Erna said.

One of the plaintiffs, Kasman Setiprawiro, 83, said he and other former political prisoners refused to give up.

"As long as God takes our side, we will keep fighting. Our struggle must not die," he said.

Kasman was jailed in the Nusakambangan maximum security prison from 1965 to 1980 without ever having being tried for any offense.

Upon his release he worked as an English translator as he did not receive a pension as a former employee of the Ministry of Forestry.