Minister dug out of hole by court

Minister dug out of hole by court

BOGOR: The Bogor District Court rejected on Thursday an action by the Indonesian Cultural Conservation Society Alliance (AMPCBI) against Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Al-Munawar, who was being sued for his part illegal excavations in the compound that houses the historic Batutulis inscription two months ago.

The suit, which was based on Law No 5/1992 on Cultural Heritage, could not be entertained as it had not been proved that the excavations had caused loss to the plaintiff, according to the court's verdict, which was read out by presiding judge Syarifuddin.

The court found that the plaintiff had no legal standing to bring the action as it was not directly involved in the preservation of the Batutulis inscription.

According to the law, it is the state that is responsible for its conservation, the judges said.

The plaintiff would appeal against the decision, said its spokesman, Gartono.

Minister Said Agil made headlines when he ordered the excavations at Batutulis, which were aimed at finding buried treasure from the Pajajaran Kingdom following a suggestion from a psychic. He later admitted that he was wrong and asked for forgiveness from the public. -- JP