Human rights commission urges

Human rights commission urges
release of 21 jailed students

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights appealed
to the authorities yesterday to free 21 students who were jailed
last week for defaming President Soeharto.

"We call on the court to put the students under house arrest
instead," Commission Vice Chairman Marzuki Darusman told The
Jakarta Post yesterday. "We appeal to the court's sense of
political justice."

Marzuki reiterated the commission's stance on the case of the
defamation of President Soeharto, saying the students' actions
were "based on their political rights".

The students held a protest, during which they were said to
have tarnished Soeharto's name, at the House of Representatives
(DPR) on Dec. 14.

"The DPR is the right place for people to express their
political rights," Marzuki said. "The students should not have
been arrested or tried at all."

The students are currently appealing against the six month
jail terms they received. With the time they spent under
detention, the students will be free by June 14.

"All the more reason to release them now," Marzuki said when
it was pointed out to him that the students would soon be
released anyway.

The commission, which was founded in December, made the same
appeal in February. Although it has no power, the commission's
recommendations carry strong weight, given its position and the
presence of respected public figures on it.

Despite the appeal, however, the court proceeded with the
trial, even during the Moslem fasting month of Ramadhan, Marzuki
said.

He said the commission finds the sentence "light," but would
still maintain its appeal. "We welcome the verdicts, but would
still like to see the students released," he said. "All they did
was express their political rights."

At the time of the demonstration, the students criticized the
government's overt concern with security, on which they blamed a
series of violent incidents in recent years. The students also
demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) hold an
emergency session to ask Soeharto to account for his leadership.
(swe)