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)