Laksamana files a police complaint against Amien

Laksamana files a police complaint against Amien

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The political conflict between State Minister of State
Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker Amien Rais reached new heights on Friday when Laksamana
reported Amien to the police charging him with defamation.

Laksamana's lawyers, including Didi Irawadi Syamsuddin and
Poltak Hutajulu, filed the complaint in response to Amien's
statement labeling the minister as "a foreign agent" who had
committed the "ultimate crime against the nation."

"We reported Pak Amien to the police as he has refused to
comply with legal notification given by Pak Laksamana for him to
apologize," Didi told reporters.

Didi said that Laksamana would also file a civil lawsuit
against Amien at the South Jakarta District Court.

Amien, also chairman of the National Mandate Party, has often
criticized the privatization policy of the government. However,
what angered Laksamana was Amien's statement published by Forum
Keadilan weekly, in which Amien accused a Cabinet member of being
a foreign agent who had committed the ultimate crime against the
nation.

Although Amien did not mention any name in the interview, he
was clearly referring to Laksamana, who is also a leading figure
in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Laksamana, through his lawyers, then sent notification to
Amien asking him to make a public apology for his statement.

Amien, however, refused and instead challenged Laksamana to
take the case to court. Amien contended that Laksamana should
apologize to the nation for selling public assets cheaply.

Didi, however, said that the court should decide, who must
make an apology.

In response to the complaint, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen.
Makbul Padmanagara revealed that police might face a snag in
questioning Amien.

"We are ready to follow up the complaint if all necessary
evidence and witnesses are complete... But, the problem is that
we face a regulation that requires us to ask for the President's
approval before questioning legislators," Makbul told reporters.

Political analysts said earlier that the legal battle between
Amien and Laksamana was politically motivated in view of the
nearing 2004 elections. The strife might be part of Amien's early
campaign to run for the presidency in the 2004 election or
Amien's discontent over the Indonesian Democratic Party's methods
of raising funds for campaigning.