Judge's toothache

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