Take rioters to court: Criminal law expert

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)