LBH lashes out at govt for tight grip on courts

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)