Judges rule to try subversion cases

JAKARTA (JP): The judges trying labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan and nine leaders of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) ruled yesterday to continue their hearings, despite objections from defense lawyers.

The 10 are charged under the 1963 antisubversion law for activities which the government says undermines it and the state ideology, Pancasila.

They are being tried in six hearings at the Central Jakarta and South Jakarta district courts.

The judges rejected the appeals of the defendants' lawyers that the charges were obscure.

The panels of judges trying the cases all had the same answer: the charges "are accurate, clear and complete".

In each of the six hearings, the lawyers immediately announced that they will appeal against these decisions.

Pakpahan, the 43-year-old chairman of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, is accused of undermining the government and sowing hatred through a book he wrote and a series of speeches he made in Indonesia and in Lisbon in the last two years. The book, Potret Negara Indonesia (Portrait of Indonesia), is banned.

Pakpahan's lawyers have said the court did not have the authority to try any one's critical thoughts.

But judge M. Djazuli, who is trying Pakpahan's case, disagreed.

"What's being tried here is not his critical thoughts, but his activities. Whether or not they were subversive, the court will decide based on the hearings," Djazuli said.

The charges against PRD chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko and eight other party members relate to their activities, also dating back to two years. They include organizing labor protests and public speeches critical of the government.

The prosecutors cited PRD's adoption of social democratic principles rather than the Pancasila in its statutes.

Although the government officially recognizes only three political parties, it has never outlawed the PRD.

Other PRD leaders on trial are Garda Sembiring, Yakobus Eko Kurniawan, Ignatius Damianus Pranowo, Suroso, Petrus Hariyanto, Ken Budha Kusumandaru, Victor Da Costa and Ignatius Arintoko.

Budiman, Sembiring, Yakobus, Pranowo and Suroso are being tried at the Central Jakarta District Court. The others are being tried at the South Jakarta District Court.

All the trials will resume on Jan. 6, except Petrus' trial on Jan. 2 and Pakpahan's on Jan. 9.

The antisubversion law carries a maximum penalty of death.

In calling for acquittals, the defendants and their lawyers have argued that the law was enacted in 1963 by then president Sukarno to secure his socialist revolution and therefore was no longer relevant today.

The judges dismissed this argument yesterday, saying the law was "positive legislation".

The law has been the subject of contentious debate among the country's legal experts. The National Commission on Human Rights called for its repeal this year.

All 10 defendants were arrested following the July 27 riots in Central Jakarta. The military blamed them for inciting the unrest through their speeches.

Their indictments however contained no such accusations. They only said that, in the case of the PRD suspects, "they were among the crowd on July 27".

The National Commission on Human Rights said the riots left at least five people dead and 23 others missing. (08)