Take rioters to court: Criminal law expert

JAKARTA (JP): Criminal law expert JE Sahetapy expressed concern Saturday about the government's plan to rerun voting in 121 polling stations on unrest-stricken Madura island, East Java.

Sahetapy, a professor at Surabaya's Airlangga University, said this was a worrying concern in the country's democratic life, Antara reported.

"I am worried about how riots affected the election so much that voting has to be repeated. This has never happened in our history," he said after the inauguration of Aris Pongtuluran as new rector of Petra Christian University.

Sahetapy questioned the legal basis for repeating the election on Madura. "I am unaware about rules and regulations on a revote," he said.

In an unprecedented move, the government acquiesced on Saturday to the United Development Party's (PPP) demand for a revote at 121 polling stations on Madura island.

General Elections Institute Secretary-General Suryatna Subrata said Thursday's voting in the area was disrupted due to a "security disturbance". He did not admit it but his statement was an indirect denial of previous reports that residents of Sampang and Pamekasan regencies were so outraged by perceived blatant poll rigging that they rioted, causing a great deal of destruction, before demanding fresh polling.

The repeat balloting will be held Tuesday in 86 sites in Sampang and another 35 in Pamekasan at the request of the respective district election committee chiefs.

It will be the first repeat voting ever under the New Order government, which held its first election in 1971. Thursday's polls were the seventh since Indonesia gained independence in 1945. The vote counting is expected to be completed Thursday and the official results will be announced on June 17.

Sahetapy appealed for the use of legal means to deal with those involved in the unrest in which government property including a police precinct, a district office, a post office and a village chief's office, was damaged.

"The perpetrators can be charged with criminal violations, and damages settled in court, a move which offers legal certainty for all parties concerned," he said.

However, another Surabaya-based legal observer and lawyer, Zaidun, was doubtful of the prospects of rioters being dealt with through legal means as the nature of their actions was political.

"Political dissent is usually dealt with in a political manner," he said.

Zaidun, also a former director of Surabaya's Legal Aid Foundation, said he would hail the use of legal means to resolve riots to uphold public justice.

Sahetapy said the Armed Forces (ABRI) should anticipate the possibility of unrest before it arose.

The Brawijaya Regional Military's spokesman Lt. Col. CHB S. Soebagio said the ABRI was in a dilemmatic position every time it handled unrest.

"If we act firmly, we may be accused of being too heavy-handed and violating procedures, but if we are cautious we appear weak," Soebagio said.

He said ABRI always tried to assume a firm stance but such a move must bear a legal basis to prevent accusations of wrongdoing. (01)