Megawati's supporters go on trial
JAKARTA (JP): Sixty-four supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri were charged in Central Jakarta District Court yesterday with assault during a battle over the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in July.
Megawati, the ousted chairwoman of the party, showed up to lend her personal support and to comfort the defendants.
"I promised them I would come. I'm here to show them I believe they are innocent," Megawati, dressed in the party's colors of red and black, told reporters as she arrived at the heavily guarded court building.
Megawati then proceeded to the main chamber of the court, where 12 of the 64 defendants were being tried.
Her arrival was cheered by around 300 people in and outside the court building. "Long live Megawati!" and "Mega will surely win!", they shouted.
She and her sister-in-law Levana Taufan Soekarnoputra, together with senior party leaders Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, Alex Litaay, Haryanto Taslam, I.G. Ngurah Sara and Sukowaluyo, took up seats in the bench reserved for the team of defense lawyers. Because of the limited space, some of them were offered seats on the side reserved for government prosecutors.
Well-known soothsayer Permadi Satriowiwoho, known as a staunch supporter of Megawati's late father and Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, was also seen in the spectators' bench.
The remaining 52 defendants were tried in four groups, consisting of 12, 11, 15 and 14 people. The hearings proceeded simultaneously and the charges were all identical.
Charges
The defendants were charged, separately or jointly, with assault, causing bodily harm and damage to property under Article 170 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
They were also charged with disobeying police orders to disperse, in violation of Article 218, which is punishable with a maximum 18 weeks in jail.
The prosecutors said that as a result of their behavior, four people, including two police officers, were injured.
The defendants were all picked up by the police after the physical battle over the PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on July 27.
The clashes pitted supporters of Megawati, who had been holed up in the headquarters, against those who supported Soerjadi, the officially recognized leader of the party.
Four women were among the 64 defendants. Most of them were young, but one defendant's age was given as 56. Their professions ranged from traders, bajaj and taxi drivers, construction workers, bus conductors, car mechanics, bicycle repairmen and car washers, as well as some unemployed defendants.
In each of the five trials yesterday, the defendants were represented by 11 lawyers. They were among the 3,000 lawyers across Indonesia who have joined the Public Defender for Indonesian Democracy, an organization founded by R.O. Tambunan to help handle various legal battles facing Megawati and her supporters.
In one of the trials yesterday, Tambunan urged the court to acquit his clients, calling the charges inaccurate.
"The defendants were the ones who were attacked," Tambunan said, recalling the event on the morning of the clashes.
"They were only defending themselves when they hurled the stones back at the attackers," he said.
"Everybody knows that it was Soerjadi's people who started the brutal attack. Why haven't any of them been charged?" he said.
He cited Article 27 of the 1945 Constitution, which states that every citizen should be treated equally before the law. "It seems the law does not apply to Soerjadi's supporters," he said.
Tambunan also argued for dismissal on the grounds that none of the defendants were accompanied by lawyers during police interrogation, in violation of Criminal Code procedures.
Similar rebuttals were also presented in the other four trials, which were adjourned until next Wednesday.
Tambunan told reporters later that 60 other Megawati supporters who were arrested during the clashes will stand trial next Monday. Megawati plans to attend the hearing, he added. (16/26)