Poll watchdog activists arrested in Lampung

Poll watchdog activists arrested in Lampung

JAKARTA (JP): Two activists of the independent election watchdog in Lampung were arrested yesterday, despite some government officials giving the organization a cautious welcome.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation protested on Tuesday the arrest of Bambang Ekalaya and Sahzan Sarif who were in the process of declaring the creation of the Lampung branch of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee.

Spokesman Hendardi said in a statement that the arrests violated the Constitution, which guarantees people's right to assemble.

Yesterday, Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman said the committee was unconstitutional but "acceptable".

"It can be accepted as long as it doesn't disturb the activities of the state electoral monitoring committee," he said after addressing a three-day meeting of provincial governors at the Home Affairs Ministry.

Attorney General Singgih, who is the chief of the state election monitoring committee, had earlier made a similar statement. He said the new committee could give inputs to the state electoral committee but should not meddle in its affairs.

The government's stance on the issue "is very clear, isn't it?" Soesilo said.

The independent committee was established on March 15 by more than 50 journalists, lawyers, statesmen and activists. It is chaired by senior journalist and former chief editor of the banned Tempo weekly magazine Goenawan Mohamad.

The idea for establishing the independent committee originated from the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP), which alleges that cheating in previous elections has been overlooked.

Several PPP chapters in the provinces last year threatened to boycott next year's election unless the government, which backs Golkar, guarantees fairness.

The initiative has since been taken up by a number of private organizations, which in January established a regional election monitoring committee in Bandung, West Java. It was then followed by the establishment of regional committees in various cities.

Head of the State Intelligence Coordinating Body, Lt. Gen. (ret) M. Sudibyo, also welcomed, albeit guardedly, the watchdog.

"The committee's presence will be welcome if its activities are constructive for improving the quality of the general election<" he said.

At the regional level, however, the independent committee's presence has elicited three different responses from provincial governors.

North Sumatra governor Raja Inal Siregar and Jakarta governor Soerjadi Soedirdja said they would welcome it as long as it did not disturb the state electoral monitoring committee's activities.

The governors of Aceh, West Sumatra, Lampung, Yogyakarta, East Timor, Central and Southeast Sulawesi were openly opposed to the independent committee.

The third group, including governors of West Java, North Sulawesi, Bali and South Kalimantan, said that they had no opinion about the committee.

Meanwhile, political observers called on the government not to treat the watchdog with suspicion.

Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Moslem Organization Amien Rais defended the committee, pointing out that its members have the right to assemble. Its presence is also a natural phenomenon in a democratic society, he said.

The new committee's secretary-general Mulyana W. Kusumah said the establishment of the independent committee was not meant to become a rival committee to the state electoral monitoring committee.

"It was established to improve the quality of the general election," he said in a press statement yesterday.

He guaranteed that the watchdog would not disturb the activities of the state electoral monitoring committee or the general election institute in general. (imn/har)