Judge's toothache

From Jayakarta

The Aug. 1 trial of Indonesian Democratic Party chairwoman Megawati was postponed for three weeks because the presiding judge, I Gede Ketut Sukarata, was reportedly suffering from a toothache. The judge's medical note was signed by a dentist named Rudi Gunawan. Doctor's notes for toothaches, in my experience, are usually only for two to three days at most. However, the postponement is good for Megawati because it gives her a mental advantage in her search for justice.

Perhaps the court needed more time to prepare against Megawati's solid defense team of R.O. Tambunan, Amartiwi Saleh and Bambang Widjojanto. The court may have needed more time to link her with the July 27 rioting and the free speech forums that took place at the PDI headquarters.

But on Aug. 6 I saw a direct telecast from a different court hearing led by judge I Gede Ketut Sukarata.

The Megawati case has found sympathizers abroad. As far as I know it is the first time in Indonesia's 51 years of independence that a political party has sued the government. Hence, the interest of the international world.

I hope Megawati's court hearing will be covered by television for the sake of transparency.

ANDI

Jakarta