IPU to investigate human rights abuses
IPU to investigate human rights abuses
JAKARTA (JP): Secretary-general of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) Pierre Cornillon is in town to gather information on
alleged violations of Indonesian legislators' basic rights.
He met yesterday with several figures here, including members
of the National Commission on Human Rights and controversial
politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas.
Cornillon said he was assigned to look into reports received
and discussed by the IPU at its recent bi-annual conference in
Beijing.
He said he focused his inquiries on violations of parliament
members' basic rights.
"We act as a mediator between alleged sources of rights
violations and specific governments where rights violations are
reported to have occurred," Cornillon said.
A source who requested anonymity said Cornillon had earlier
met with Attorney General Singgih and also hoped to meet with
Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman.
The source said Cornillon and commission members discussed
issues surrounding Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a House member who was
dismissed by his United Development Party and is currently
awaiting his appeal on a court decision that sentenced him to 34
months in jail for insulting President Soeharto.
They also discussed the fate of former house member Sukatno,
who is on death row. He was imprisoned for his involvement in the
Indonesian Communist Party's attempted coup in 1965. Sukatno was
a parliament member under President Sukarno. The court sentenced
him to death in 1971.
Cornillon also met with Bintang yesterday afternoon at the
Jakarta Legal Aid Institute office. Bintang was accompanied by
noted lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution.
"While there is still hope for his release, we will not stop
trying until we get a satisfactory answer," Cornillo said,
referring to the persistent stand of the IPU in raising the
case.
He said the IPU noted any violations of parliamentary members'
basic rights, regardless of their ideological leanings.
The IPU, according to Cornillon, handles two types of cases:
confidential cases and open cases, which are announced to the
public.
Two-thirds of the total cases that IPU handles, according to
Cornillo, are confidential.
He refused to comment when asked if he had also discussed the
case of House member Megawati Soekarnoputri, who has been in
trouble ever since she was deposed by her rival in a government-
sanctioned congress in June.
Megawati has been summoned by the police and the Attorney
General's Office as a witness in a subversion case involving
Budiman Sudjatmiko, leader of the little-known leftist Democratic
People's Party. (14)