Government told to back off poll boycotters

Government told to back off poll boycotters

JAKARTA (JP): The excessive campaign by the government and
some institutions against people planning to boycott the election
violates human rights, a legal expert said yesterday.

Harkristuti Harkrisnowo of the University of Indonesia's Law
School said no legal sanctions could be imposed on citizens
deciding not to vote in the May 29 general election.

Some government officials have said they will take punitive
measures against those who snub the election.

Harkristuti said, "No laws say that abstaining from the
election is a crime or punishable conduct, and it is unethical to
oblige everybody to vote or use subtle threats to make people do
so.

"The principle of a free election implies the freedom not to
vote," she added.

The dominant political organization Golkar, the Moslem-based
United Development Party (PPP) and the Christian-nationalist
alliance Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) will contest 425 of
the 500 seats in the House of Representatives at the polls.

The government and some religious organizations have
repeatedly called for people's participation in the general
election and branded the would-be abstainers irresponsible
citizens.

President Soeharto acknowledged on his recent trip to Aceh
that voting was not mandatory, but said that abstainers could not
protest the election's results. The President warned that people
who encouraged others to boycott the election would be punished.

Southeast Sulawesi Governor La Ode Kaimoeddin sparked
controversy early last month when he called for the dismissal of
teachers who boycotted the polls, saying they would inspire their
students to follow suit.

Harkristuti said that those who stopped people voting or
encouraged people not to vote should face legal sanctions.

But, she said, government officials who promised rewards to
people who vote for Golkar should face the same sanctions.

"Such practices have been common prior to general elections,"
she said.

Bintang

Harkristuti said she doubted that rebel politician Sri Bintang
Pamungkas, who is being detained by the Attorney General's Office
on subversion charges, had intended to disrupt the general
election with his Idul Fitri greeting cards.

Bintang, the chairman of the unrecognized Indonesian
Democratic Union Party, sent the cards which carried a message
about the party's program to boycott the polls.

"This is an insult to people's intelligence by saying that
Bintang could persuade those who received his cards to agree with
him. Who is he anyway?" Harkristuti said.

Harkristuti said that government officials might even be
encouraging the boycott while helping Golkar to another landslide
win. Golkar hopes to win 70.02 percent of votes this election.

"Instead of inviting sympathy, the officials' attitudes have
allowed antipathy to grow," she said.

The officials' abuse of power to help Golkar win the polls
showed that Golkar lacked self-confidence, Harkristuti said.

The two minority parties have repeatedly accused the
government of stealing the election campaign by holding early
campaign rallies. They said many officials had reserved travel
time to attend meetings of Golkar.

Golkar leaders have denied any wrongdoing, saying that the PPP
and PDI could do the same thing.

The director general of sociopolitical and security affairs of
the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sutoyo N.K., said yesterday that
foreigners were free to monitor the polls, but they had to gain
permits from the General Elections Institute.

"They (foreigners) will have no trouble getting the permits,"
said Sutoyo, who chairs the election screening committee, in a
separate occasion.

Minister of Home Affairs Moh. Yogie S.M. said early this month
that the government would invite foreign observers. But President
Soeharto said Monday this was impossible.

Sutoyo said yesterday that foreigners would only be allowed to
observe, not investigate, the polls. He said his office had not
heard from any foreigners wanting to be observers. (amd/imn)