Latief keeps hands off Muchtar's case

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief, facing increasing foreign and domestic pressure to intervene in the trial of labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan, maintained yesterday that he had neither the intention nor the capacity to help.

Latief told a hearing with the House of Representatives that Muchtar's court case, which began in Medan, North Sumatra on Monday, had nothing to do with labor problems in Indonesia.

"We can't do anything to have Muchtar released or seek a lighter sentence," he told the House's Commission VI on labor. "That is the sole authority of the court."

Muchtar, the chairman of the outlawed All Indonesian Prosperity Union (SBSI), was arraigned in a Medan court on Monday on charges of inciting workers to violence during a labor protest that turned into a riot in the city last April.

During the hearing yesterday, a number of legislators asked Latief to consider the request by a group of U.S. congressional members to acquit Muchtar of the criminal charges.

The congressional representatives sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative's office recently, urging Washington to strike Indonesia from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) because of the way Jakarta handled the SBSI case and other labor problems.

Latief said Muchtar's case is a criminal case. "Let the court try the case fairly," he said, adding: "Indonesia is a sovereign state and therefore foreign countries should not intervene in its internal matters."

He said that Washington was welcome to send a representative to observe Muchtar's trial.

Although considered illegal, the government has tolerated the presence of SBSI.

GSP

During the hearing, Latief was careful not to refer to SBSI as such. Instead, he used the term "Muchtar and his friends" when talking about the organization.

He declined to be drawn into the GSP controversy, saying that it was an internal matter for the United States to decide. "However, we regret that they (congressional members) are using the labor issue to press us to free Muchtar," he said.

Washington has been reviewing the GSP facility for Indonesia over the past year, amidst allegations that Jakarta has failed to respect the rights of Indonesian workers. A decision was originally expected in August but the U.S. embassy last month said the dialog was continuing.

Latief said Indonesia has significantly improved the conditions of its workers and this might have been taken into account by Washington. "If not, the trade facilities would have been suspended," he said.(rms)