Fatwa's name restored, salary reimbursed

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso on Thursday officially restored the good name of Muslim scholar Andi Mappetahang Fatwa, who lost his position in the city administration in 1979 for his opposition to the ruling New Order regime.

"I'm very happy and grateful to receive this document which restores my dignity.

"I'm also happy to be reconsidered a part of the city administration," Fatwa said following a closed-door meeting with the governor at City Hall.

The city administration also compensated Fatwa for lost salary and bonuses from the time he was fired in 1979 until he was imprisoned in 1984.

Fatwa, 60, began serving an 18-year prison term in 1984 for his political activities and his involvement in the 1983 Tanjung Priok unrest. At least nine people were killed in the unrest and another 50 injured. Fatwa was granted parole in 1993.

The substance of the meeting between Sutiyoso and Fatwa on Thursday is unclear, but several officials said the governor officially apologized to Fatwa on behalf of the city administration.

Fatwa's last position in the administration was head of the People's Supervision Subdirectorate in the Directorate for Social and Political Affairs. Before joining the city administration, Fatwa was a Muslim preacher with the Navy.

"It was Bang Ali (former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin) who asked me to join the city administration. It was also Bang Ali who testified for me in the court case for the Tanjung Priok unrest," Fatwa said.

Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs Abdul Kahfi said Fatwa would receive Rp 12.2 million (US$1,742) in unpaid salary for the period of October 1979 to September 1984.

"Fatwa will also receive his monthly pension at the current rate, calculated according to his last position and rank," Kahfi said.

Fatwa said the amount of monetary compensation he received was not the important thing. "The money isn't that much. What's more important is that my dignity has been restored and I'm again accepted as part of the city administration's family."

Fatwa also urged the government to restore the names of other former political prisoners.

"People such as Ganjar Subrata, a former official at the City Development Control Agency, and Imaduddin Abdurrachim, a former lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology, should also have their names restored," he said.

"I am among the first political prisoners to be released and have my name restored by the government. I hope this initial momentum will lead to similar attention being paid to other political prisoners, especially those neglected ones," he said.

Fatwa's name was restored by then president B.J. Habibie in a presidential decree dated Aug. 15, 1999, in commemoration of Independence Day.

Fatwa is currently a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives from the National Mandate Party faction. (05)