Police accused of violating Constitution in VCD bias case

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta

Sr. Comr. Andi Aflus Mapparesa, who last week was removed as chief of Central Java's Banyumas Police, violated the Constitution by giving a speech in support of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's candidacy, the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said on Monday.

He broke the underlying principles of impartiality and fairness that police officers must uphold during elections, the committee said.

"Article 22e (1) of the amended Constitution stipulates that elections must be conducted honestly and fairly, which has also been translated into Law No. 23/2003. And violations of these principles by any party, including the police, constitute a grave threat to the rules," Panwaslu member Saut Hamonangan Sirait said.

Saut and Panwaslu chairman Komaruddin Hidayat said that despite the serious violation, no legal action could be taken against the officer.

However, such a breach of the Constitution can only put the credibility of the police at risk, they said.

The credibility of the July 5 presidential election has also been put at risk by this infraction by a state institution that is meant to remain neutral during the polls, they said.

Saut said Panwaslu would soon hold a meeting with National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to demand that he ensure the impartiality of his force during the Sept. 20 election runoff.

"We will also seek clarification on the VCD case and urge the police to hand down appropriate measures against the defiant officer," Komaruddin said.

The chairman of Panwaslu was disclosing the outcome of the committee's investigation into alleged electoral violations by the police after a video, released recently by the University of Indonesia Alumni Association, showed the Banyumas Police chief directing his audience to vote for Megawati in the presidential election.

The video sparked public outrage, with some alleging that the Banyumas incident was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Reports have surfaced that local police chiefs held similar closed-door meetings to tell officers and their families to vote for certain presidential candidates.

Panwaslu's investigative team, consisting of committee members Masyhudi Ridwan, Saut and Topo Santoso, did not find any election-related crime committed by the Banyumas Police chief, despite the alleged violation of the police's impartiality.

"He (Andi) is not a member of the Megawati-Hasyim campaign team. Therefore, he cannot be charged with violating the Election Law by campaigning ahead of the designated schedule," Masyhudi said.

Andi gave the speech on May 29 during a meeting with police officers' families and retired officers, one day before the month-long presidential campaign kicked off.

As for vote-buying allegations against the Banyumas Police chief, Panwaslu said the distribution of cash to participants of the meeting was a regular fixture of such meetings.

In a related development, the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) said the rights of civilians accused by the police of leaking the video had been violated.

The KIPP urged the National Commission on Human Rights to investigate the matter.

KIPP executive director Ray Rangkuti said the actions of Puji Rahardjo, who has been charged with leaking the video, could have something to do with his reported intimidation by police officers.

Puji turned himself in to the Banjarnegara Police on Monday for questioning over the alleged theft of private property.