Lawyer insists on trial for HQ takeover suit
Lawyer insists on trial for HQ takeover suit
JAKARTA (JP): Ninety-eight Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
supporters loyal to the party's former leader, Megawati
Soekarnoputri, pressed on with their lawsuit over the violent
takeover of the party's headquarters last year.
They rejected the argument made by defense lawyers of
Soerjadi, the new PDI chairman, at a previous hearing. The
defense had said that the issue was purely an internal party
matter and that the court had no jurisdiction to try the suit.
The plaintiff's chief lawyer, R.O. Tambunan, said the
takeover, which led to a massive and bloody riot, was a crime
that should be dealt with by the courts.
"A crime is certainly not the party's internal problem,"
Tambunan said. "It should automatically be tried by the court."
The 98 Megawati supporters are suing Soerjadi, his cadres and
the former Central Jakarta police chief, Let. Col. Abubakar
Nataprawira, for their role in the takeover.
The takeover of the PDI office on Jl. Diponegoro, Central
Jakarta, on July 27 last year lead to a riot which claimed five
lives, left 23 people missing and scores of buildings gutted by
fire.
The National Commission of Human Rights' has called for a
thorough investigation into the whereabouts of the missing
people, but the government has not provided any more information
on them.
One hundred and twenty-four people had initially brought the
group action, but problems gaining all their signatures had
reduced their number to 98.
The damages demanded by the plaintiffs have also dropped to Rp
9.8 billion (US$3.96 million) from Rp 12.4 billion.
Megawati attended the hearing yesterday cheered on by about
200 supporters who packed the courtroom. As she left the
courtroom, supporters repeatedly chanted: "Mega will certainly
win."
The supporters marched for a kilometer from the court to
Tambunan's office, where Megawati's car was under guard.
On Thursday, Abubakar's lawyer Rudi Heriyanto demanded that
the court exclude his client from the lawsuit because Abubakar
had only been carrying out his duty as an administrative official
who could not be sued.
Tambunan said that rather than trying to stop "Soerjadi's
supporters" from attacking the PDI headquarters, Abubakar's
troops had stood back and allowed them to proceed.
"Moreover, they (the troops) were involved in the action,"
Tambunan said. (05)