Sri Bintang against Silangit's appointment

JAKARTA (JP): The trial of former legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas continued at a snail's pace yesterday as the defendant maintained his objection against S. T. Silangit's appointment as the prosecuting attorney.

Judge Darlan Nasution granted Bintang's request for an adjournment yesterday following his refusal to deliver a legal exception.

"I rejected Silangit as prosecutor of the trial," Bintang told the South Jakarta District Court.

Yesterday's impasse followed the trend of the two previous proceedings which ended in adjournments.

During the Dec. 29 trial, Bintang and his lawyers walked out of the courtroom in protest of the appointment of Silangit.

One of Bintang's lawyers, R.O. Tambunan, said last month that Silangit had treated Bintang harshly while interrogating him last year.

Bintang claimed Silangit bumped into him as if looking for a fight, and also tried to hit him twice.

Bintang asked the court last month to replace Silangit on the grounds that the latter had acted as the investigating officer and the prosecutor.

He argued that Silangit's double role was a direct conflict of interest which could obstruct justice.

But when asked what Bintang would do if the court still refuses to replace Silangit, another of Bintang's lawyers Bambang Widjojanto said they would first need to confer what the next step would be.

"We will think about it in a weeks time ... We cannot answer the question now," said Bambang, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation.

As reported, Judge Darlan and the South Jakarta Attorney General's Office have repeatedly said Silangit's appointment was in accordance with the rules.

Bintang, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in 1995, is currently serving a 34-month prison term for insulting President Soeharto during a speech in Germany three years ago.

Bintang is also chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) which the government has refused to recognize. (10)