LBH lashes out at govt for tight grip on courts

JAKARTA (JP): A prominent legal aid office lashed out at the government yesterday for its tight grip on the country's courts.

The lawyers at the Jakarta chapter of the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) also noted rampant violations of human rights and of the law. They predicted that no great changes in law enforcement would occur next year because there have not been any structural, substantial or cultural changes in society.

"Whenever the interests of the authorities are involved, the upholding of the law and human rights is done in a discriminating and halfhearted way," the foundation said in its year-end report issued at a press conference yesterday.

The foundation's Jakarta director, Luhut Pangaribuan, said in the report that "in reality it is clear that the law can easily be manipulated to justify actions done for political and economic interests."

Public distrust of the legal system because it has too often been manipulated to suit the interests of those in power is shown by the widespread criticism of it and the numerous contempt of court cases, Luhut said.

As an example of the contempt of court, Luhut cited how a person attending a court hearing recently threw his shoe at the presiding judge. The incident, Luhut said, could be understood given the public's belief that the law does not protect them.

Luhut then referred to a recent Supreme Court decision to reverse an earlier ruling which acquitted labor activist Muchtar Pakpahan of charges of inciting massive labor unrest in Medan, North Sumatra in 1994.

Pakpahan, head of the unrecognized Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union was sentenced to three years in jail in November 1994. The North Sumatra High Court increased the sentence to four years. But Pakpahan was later released from jail after a three-member panel of Supreme Court justices led by Deputy Chief Justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto exonerated him of all charges.

Last October, the then chief justice Soerjono retracted Adi's ruling and sent Pakpahan back to court.

The report also pointed out that if the law had been properly upheld the riots on July 27 could have been prevented.

The unrest, which left five dead and 149 injured, erupted after the violent takeover of the Indonesian Democracy Party (PDI) headquarters by troops and a government-backed party faction from supporters of ousted chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Pangaribuan said that if the status quo had been respected, as Megawati at the time was disputing her ouster in court, the incident would never have happened. "It should have been court officials who had the right to come to the headquarters (to settle the dispute)," he said.

The foundation's annual report also discussed the rising political temperature, a consequence of the preparations for next year's general election. It warned that repressive behavior by the security forces, would probably increase in 1997 to secure the smooth passing of the general election, set for May 29.

Aside from criticizing legal enforcement, the report also proposed some steps to be taken to correct the situation. Luhut said the first step should be the revision of the 15-year-old criminal code procedures. Intellectuals, religious figures, politicians and legal professionals have frequently said the procedures were outdated.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation is currently preparing its own revision of the procedures. Foundation chairman Bambang Widjojanto once said that the draft would strive to curb violations of the procedures by the authorities.

Yesterday Luhut also cited incidents he labeled as violations of the criminal code procedures, including the sudden death in police custody of Tjetje Tadjudin, a suspect in a recent armed robbery on the Jagorawi turnpike in West Java.

Another questionable incident, he said was the death, also in police custody, of Ahmad Siddiq, a suspect in the Oct. 10 riots in Situbondo, East Java.

Luhut named the "arbitrary" arrest of Dwi Sumaji, the suspected killer of journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, the detention of Veronica Sembiring by police investigating her son Garda's involvement in the July 27 riots in Jakarta as other violations of the criminal code procedures. (06/07)