High court backs Mega's lawsuit

JAKARTA (JP): The ousted chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, was given an opportunity to continue her legal battle after a high court yesterday backed her lawsuit contesting the validity of her rival's leadership.

The Jakarta High Court overturned the lower Central Jakarta District Court's ruling that it did not have the authority to try the case.

Megawati's leading defense lawyer, R.O. Tambunan, said in a press conference that the high court had ordered the district court to reopen the case against government-backed PDI chairman Soerjadi and his supporters.

"The High Court judges ordered the Central Jakarta District Court to continue the trial of Megawati's lawsuit," Tambunan said.

He said that he received copies of the high court's verdict Thursday.

Tambunan quoted chief judge Slamet Riyanto as saying that the Central Jakarta District Court had the authority to try the case.

"The party congress violated the party's constitution," Slamet said in the verdict, dated July 10, 1997.

Presiding judge I Gde Ketut Sukarata of the Central Jakarta District Court said last October that the district court had no jurisdiction to try the case.

"The (district) court agrees with all the arguments put forward by the defendants that it does not have the authority to hear the case," Sukarata said then.

"It (the case) is purely a PDI internal affair. Any party dispute should be settled at its next congress in 1998," Sukarata added.

Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia's founding president Sukarno, sued the government and the military over a campaign party congress in the North Sumatra capital of Medan in June last year which dismissed her from the party leadership. The congress elected Soerjadi as the new PDI chairman.

She named Soerjadi and the congress organizers, Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung and National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo as defendants.

The high court judges, however, upheld the district court's decision on the government and military officials.

"The district court has no authority to examine the state's policies on security affairs," Slamet said.

Yogie's lawyers had argued that the case was an internal party affair and the court had no jurisdiction to hear it.

Feisal and Dibyo's lawyers had argued that the Armed Forces and police were involved in the Medan congress only to oversee security. "It is the officers' duty to guard large gatherings," one of the lawyers said.

Megawati and her allies have refused to recognize Soerjadi as party chairman or any other results of the congress. Megawati has also filed a lawsuit against the government and the General Elections Institute for rejecting her list of candidates for the general election in May this year.

Commenting on the high court's verdict, Haryanto Taslam, a Megawati loyalist, expressed delight because the trial could now begin.

"We will leave the question of further action to our defense lawyers," he said.

Tambunan said Megawati's defense lawyers would withdraw all their 120 lawsuits nationwide if his client won the case in the Central Jakarta District Court.

"The case in the Central Jakarta District Court is the keystone of our legal battle," he said. (imn)