Top political prisoners seek clemency

Top political prisoners seek clemency

JAKARTA (JP): Three political prisoners, two of them serving
life terms and another on death row, have formally applied for
"special" clemency from President Soeharto to take advantage of
the spirit of reconciliation now being encouraged as part of
Indonesia's 50th independence anniversary.

Soebandrio, Omar Dhani and Latief Cakraningrat -- all
convicted for their roles in the abortive communist coup attempt
in 1965 and all now in Jakarta's Cipinang Correctional
Institution -- have submitted their requests to the Jakarta
Office of the Ministry of Justice.

The office's head, Mohammad C. Alamsyah Boer, who disclosed
the convict's actions to the press yesterday, said he had passed
their requests on to Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman.

Soebandrio, 80 years old, was deputy prime minister to
President Sukarno when the coup, blamed on the Indonesian
Communist Party, was staged on Sept. 30, 1965. Air Marshal Omar
Dhani, 71, was minister and commander of the Air Force at the
time. Both men were convicted of complicity in the affair and
sentenced to death. President Soeharto commuted their sentences
to life imprisonment in 1980.

Latief was former commander of Cakrabirawa, the presidential
security guard unit that launched the 1965 coup. He was sentenced
to death.

With the nation marking its 50th independence anniversary this
year, many human rights campaigners have called for the release
of all political prisoners as a gesture of national
reconciliation.

Emil Salim, the head of the government's National Committee
for the 50th Independence Anniversary, has supported the call for
reconciliation, but stressed that such a move must start at the
grassroots level.

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said yesterday that he would
forward the requests for clemency from the three convicts to
President Soeharto and would furnish documents, including reports
on their behavior in prison, with the proposals.

Oetojo stressed that the decision on whether or not to grant
the clemency rests in the hands of the President.

He added that the President was expected to consider political
reasons and conditions in making his decision.

Oetojo and Alamsyah spoke to reporters separately when they
attended a two-day national meeting of the Indonesian Association
of Lawyers yesterday.

Alamsyah said there is no regulation limiting the number of
times a convict can ask for clemency. "Everyone has the right to
submit appeals for clemency one after another."

The government has promised to grant special remissions for
convicts this year in connection with Indonesia's golden
anniversary, on top of the regular remissions traditionally given
on Independence Day on Aug. 17.

Officials have said, however, that people on death row and
serving life terms would be excluded from the remissions.

Andi Muis, a professor of law at Hasanuddin University in
Ujungpandang, said yesterday that if the requests for clemency
were approved, Subandrio and Omar Dani should go free because
both have served more than the maximum prison term of 20 years.

Latief's term could be commuted to life imprisonment, Andi
told The Jakarta Post last night.

He said clemency would only be granted if the convicts had
truly repented and showed regret for their past actions and
pledged allegiance to the state.

"Can they accept the Pancasila principles and the New Order
political system?" he asked. "We also have to anticipate the
possible revival of communism in other forms," he added. (imn)