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)