Goenawan Muhamad protests Ratna's arrest

Goenawan Muhamad protests Ratna's arrest

JAKARTA (JP): Noted government critic Goenawan Muhamad and the
Indonesian Society for Humanity are among the growing voices
expressing their concern over the arrest of actress Ratna
Sarumpaet and eight other activists. They were charged with
illegally organizing a political meeting.

Goenawan, former editor of the now banned Tempo magazine,
attempted to meet with members of the National Commission on
Human Rights here yesterday to complain about the arrest.

But his efforts were in vain as all commission members were
tied up with busy schedules.

No appointment had been scheduled between Goenawan and any of
the commission members.

"That's okay. As so many people are arrested the commission is
busy. Understandably," Goenawan Muhammad told reporters.

Goenawan said he had come not only to express concern at
Ratna's arrest but also her daughter's, Fathom Saulina, who's
crime he claimed was merely accompanying her mother to the police
station.

"I represent my own concerns. I represent my own anger," he
commented, adding that Fathom's arrest was a "brutality in
itself."

Police arrested the activists during a raid on a planned
political discussion on Tuesday in North Jakarta

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said Wednesday
that the group had organized a political meeting without a police
permit and were charged under a 1969 law restricting political
activities.

If found guilty they face a maximum sentence of one year in
jail.

The Indonesian Society for Humanity, who had one of its
activists, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, among those arrested, joined
the growing outcry at the arrests. It issued a statement
demanding their immediate release.

The group's secretary-general, Andriyanto, said in a statement
that the gathering could not be categorized as unlawful because
the organizers did not disrupt public order and held the meeting
in an indoor venue.

Ratna, who is also a member of Siaga -- a loose association
which supports government critic Amien Rais and the ousted leader
of the Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri --
urged every Indonesian to closely study President Soeharto's
inauguration speech.

"He voiced his willingness to receive criticism from any
parties," Ratna said in a three-page handwritten letter made
available to the press. (emf/byg)