Rallies to protest Akbar's arrest continue in regions
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
About 300 Golkar Party (The Functional Group) demonstrators staged a rally on Friday in Manado, North Sulawesi demanding that the Attorney General's Office free Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung from incarceration.
Conducting their rally before the provincial prosecutor's office in Manado (about 1,300 kilometers east of Jakarta), they claimed that his detention was more political than legal.
"We'll fight against whoever is trying to politicize his (Akbar's) detention," said the executive chairman of Golkar in North Sulawesi, Joost Th. Patty, who was accompanied by the party's provincial secretary, Victor Maylangkay.
He said there was no need to detain Akbar, who was also the speaker of the House of Representatives, if it was intended for questioning him. "We can guarantee that Akbar Tandjung won't run away or destroy evidence during his questioning," he claimed, although it was made clear how he could issue such a guarantee.
North Sulawesi's Golkar Chairman A.J. Sondakh, who is also the governor of the province, could not attend the rally as he had to accompany Labor Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, who was visiting the province.
Patty said that North Sulawesi Golkar asked the Attorney General's Office to expedite the investigation and bring Akbar's case to court by next week at the latest.
"If it fails to do so then it'll strengthen our suspicion that the Attorney General does not have enough evidence and that the case was politicized," he said, adding the Golkar in North Sulawesi would continue to recognize Akbar as the party chairman.
In Medan, North Sumatra, the province's Golkar members also asked the Attorney General's Office on Friday to free Akbar from detention.
Around 800 members of a group calling itself the Indonesian Young Generation (AMPI), which is affiliated with the Golkar party, also staged a rally on Friday to protest his incarceration.
They demanded that the Attorney General's Office refrain from becoming politicized by other parties and only focus on the law.
The North Sumatra Legislative Council's Golkar Faction Secretary Syahrul M. Pasaribu said that the jailing of Akbar was not consistent with the Criminal Code article 20, which states that a suspect can only be detained if he is suspected to; be a flight risk, destroy evidence or repeat their crimes.
He argued that during his questioning, Akbar was very cooperative and complied with the legal procedure.
Meanwhile in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the provincial Golkar members reacted coolly to the detention.
"Let the legal procedure proceed. But we hope that Akbar's detention is not linked to the Golkar institution. He is our chairman, but in Buloggate II, Akbar was not in his role as a chairman of Golkar. So this case has no relation to Golkar," South Sulawesi's Provincial Golkar Chairman, Amin Syam told The Jakarta Post.
Legal analysts have speculated that the Bulog money may have been used for Golkar election activities in 1999.
Amin added that at this point, his branch did not think there was an urgent need to convene a meeting to discuss a plan to replace Akbar as chairman, because he was only in jail and had not yet been found guilty.
"We still support him as Golkar chairman," he said, adding that the jailing of their party chairman in a corruption scam had not tarnished the party's image.
"The public has been critical. But they can distinguish between Akbar as Golkar chairman and Akbar as a person. We don't worry about public opinion," he claimed, adding that the Attorney General should continue to follow the law.
But he warned that nobody should exploit the case to ruin Golkar's image. "We'll fight against whoever tries to do so," he said.
Meanwhile, dozens of the Alliance of Indonesian Students (Alfonso) in Makassar, held a demonstration to protest Akbar's arrest.
Alfonso's spokesman Ato A. Suharto said that there was no need to detain Akbar before judges issued their verdict in court, and his case should not be politicized.