Govt to keep ET code in database system

JAKARTA (JP): The government's insistence on maintaining the ET (ex-political prisoner) code in the population management system's database has drawn fire from a prominent human right activist.

Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said yesterday that the policy reflected the government's reluctance to change its discriminatory policy on former political detainees linked to the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party.

"This (policy) is obviously against Article 27 of the 1945 Constitution which guarantees that every citizen is equal before the law," he told The Jakarta Post.

Abdul Hakim was commenting on a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday that although the highly controversial ET codes were scrapped from the ID cards of ex-political detainees on Aug. 18, the government apparently intends to maintain the code in its database.

The Director General for Public Administration and Regional Autonomy Soemitro Maskun said that the government needs to maintain data on the former detainees to monitor their movement.

Abdul Hakim, executive director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, said he doubted there would be any change in the government's policy.

He said that the elimination of ET code was prompted by the new computerized process of making ID cards, which will start on Jan. 1, 1996.

Abdul said that the government should change its policy because the detainees have never been tried for their political crimes.

"They have never been stated guilty legally," he said.

He said the government's fear that the prisoners might mobilize and affect the political system was rather groundless due to their advanced ages.

Meanwhile Soemitro Maskun told reporters on Monday that only computer operators, who have been sworn to secrecy, have access to the database.

Soemitro said the new, light-blue-colored ID cards measure 8.5 by 5.5 cm, which is smaller than the current one.

On the left side of the front is the figure of the Pancasila symbol followed by the words Kartu Tanda Penduduk Republik Indonesia and a red-and-white ribbon below.

Also on the front is a 16-digit population registration number, with the first six digits reflecting the provincial code, region and district.

The second six digits are for the birth date, month and year of the card holder and the last four are the person's registration number.

The computerized ID, which costs Rp 3,000, will also print the name, sex, address, religion, blood type, citizen and picture of the holder. The new card will not contain data on marital or job status.(05)