Police accused of violating Constitution in VCD bias case

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.