Foundation pledges to take Nuku's case to Supreme Court

JAKARTA (JP): The Pijar Foundation, a student organization campaigning for human rights, was furious at a high court ruling that one of its leaders receive five years in jail. The sentence is one year longer than what was handed down by a lower court.

The Jakarta High Court reaffirmed the Central Jakarta District Court's guilty verdict against Nuku Soleiman for defaming President Soeharto on May 16 and added a year to the jail term.

The Central Jakarta District Court informed Nuku of the ruling on Thursday.

"We will take Nuku's case to the Supreme Court," Amir Husin Daulay, one of the founders of The Pijar foundation told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The Central Jakarta District Court in February found Nuku guilty of defaming the head state by producing and distributing stickers which attacked the good name of Soeharto.

The government prosecutor, which had sought a six-year term, appealed the court ruling as did Nuku and his lawyers.

Nuku however appeared to have taken the high court ruling calmly, according to Nuku whom he met during a visit to his cell last week.

"Nuku told me that four or five years imprisonment was no problem," Amir said. "In fact, Nuku was bracing to spend six years behind bars."

Nuku chaired the foundation which organizes and coordinates student demonstrations on issues ranging from human rights, land disputes to campus freedom. The foundation, which was formed six years ago, links students from 12 universities on Java.

The high court verdict reflected the changing fortunes of the foundation in recent weeks.

Early this month, 21 students who were mostly identified with Pijar, were sentenced to six month imprisonment, also for defaming President Soeharto.

The sentence was unexpectedly light although the students' and their supporters had tested the judge's patience by turning the court into a stage for their political drama.

Also two weeks ago, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, one of the original founders of Pijar, was given a conditional release by the government. He was serving an eight year and six month jail term for organizing a meeting which the court found subversive.

Intention

Amir said the High Court had intentionally withheld its decision until after the Central Jakarta District Court passed judgment on the 21 students who were jailed for defaming President Soeharto during a protest at the House of Representatives last December.

It was intended to serve as a warning to the students that they too could get longer jail terms if they appealed against their six month imprisonment.

"We will support and strengthen them morally that they should not accept the verdict," Amir said, "Accepting the verdict would mean admission their guilt."

Pijar Foundation on Saturday conferred awards three activists it its office on Jl. Penggalang in Central Jakarta.

It gave Bambang Beathor Suryadi, a student of the Pancasila University, its 1993 Democracy Award. Bonar, who is re- registering with the Gadjah Mada University, and Virgilio da Silva Uterres, an East Timorese student, are this year's joint recipients of the award. (arf)