Experts call for restraint on subversion law
Experts call for restraint on subversion law
SEMARANG (JP): Well-known legal experts Satjipto Rahardjo and
Muladi are worried about the government's threat to use the
subversion law against alleged inciters of the July 27 riot in
Jakarta.
In separate interviews with The Jakarta Post yesterday, they
said that the law should be scrapped because it is outdated and
allows violations of human rights.
They stressed that as the law stands it should be used
selectively for political crimes such as undermining the state
ideology Pancasila.
"As long as a crime can be handled with the criminal code, the
use of the subversion law should be avoided," Muladi said.
Both Muladi and Satjipto are senior teachers at Semarang's
Diponegoro University and members of the Jakarta-based National
Commission on Human Rights.
Muladi said the commission's recent call for the abolition of
the subversion law received an enthusiastic response from the
public but got a cold reaction from the government.
The July 27 riot, which claimed at least three lives and
material losses of about Rp 200 billion (US$85 million), has been
blamed on the little-known leftist Democratic People's Party
(PRD).
Ten key activists of the group, including its chairman Budiman
Sudjatmiko, were arrested in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, in a
midnight raid on Sunday on their hiding place.
Spokesman for the Armed Forces Amir Syarifudin said that from
the documents seized from the activists, there was a "clear
indication" that PRD has a lot in common with the outlawed
Indonesian Communist Party.
Muladi said the July 27 riot has reasserted the need for the
government to maintain the law, which was last used six years ago
against a man falsifying tote coupons.
The authorities have to study PRD's declaration before they
level subversion charges against the "party's" activists, he
said.
Satjipto said that even though the law has not been scrapped,
as its critics have persistently demanded, law enforcers should
apply it very cautiously.
He pointed out that people's main objection to the law is the
"elasticity" of its articles that allows the authorities to use
them for any crimes.
"The law should be used only for major political crimes," he
said. He pointed out that the law was made decades ago when the
situation was "completely different" from now.
"From the human rights point of view, the law is very
defective and therefore the National commission on Human Rights
has proposed it be scrapped," he said.
He said that he does not question the substance of the
subversion law. It is the way the articles are formulated, he
said.
At a separate occasion, Attorney General Singgih acceded that
Indonesian law enforcement has been under public scrutiny.
He said in the Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura that the
"behavior" of some law enforcers has tarnished the image of
Indonesian law enforcement, Antara reported.
"As law enforcers, they should have set good examples instead
of trampling on the law," he said when installing the new Irian
Jaya high court justice Soleman Andi Lolo. His statement was read
out by Ismu Djoko, his deputy on general criminal affairs.
Singgih also admitted that legal development lags behind the
development of other sectors. (har/pan)