Vocal scholar hauled in for more questioning

Vocal scholar hauled in for more questioning

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The authorities formally charged outspoken
intellectual George Junus Aditjondro on Saturday with insulting
the government.

George was summoned to the Yogyakarta police precinct for the
second time this month in connection with comments he made during
an August seminar on democracy.

Plainclothes police heavily guarded the room where the
lecturer from the Salatiga-based Satya Wacana University was
questioned from 10:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. behind closed doors.

The authorities said George made slanderous remarks on
Indonesia's economic and political practices when he analyzed
papers presented by Gen. (ret) Sumitro, former chief of internal
security agency and Gen. (ret) Rudini, a former home affairs
minister.

George, well-known for his critical stance on the government's
policy on the former Portuguese colony of East Timor, says he is
unaware which of his remarks in the seminar was considered
offensive.

Sources at the police precinct said the questioning was halted
after doctors found that his blood pressure had risen to an
alarming level. They said that George was able to answer 16 of
the 50 questions already listed by the authorities. The
questioning is scheduled to resume today.

Before appearing at the police precinct with his lawyers from
the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), he had twice declined to come on
the grounds that the authorities' letters of invitation did not
make it clear why he was invited.

"In legal terms, everything must be accurate," argued LBH
lawyer Artijo Alkostar who is defending him during the police
investigation.

Police said they formally charged him of slandering the
government after they found sufficient evidence from his first
interrogation on Oct. 15.

If the court finds him guilty, Aditjondro faces a maximum
sentence of 18 months in jail.

The authorities charged that George had "insulted the
Indonesian government both verbally and in written statements."

Confusing

Artijo said that the wording in the charges was "confusing"
because George did not present a paper during the seminar on "The
Urgency of Political Development in the Process of Democracy in
Indonesia," which was organized by the Indonesian Islamic
University.

But Maj. Anton Tabah, deputy chief of the Yogyakarta precinct
argued that the wording was quoted directly from article 207 of
the criminal code.

Artijo said he would request that investigators summon Rudini
and Sumitro because their's were the papers being discussed. He
also plans to propose that the police also summon Sri Bintang
Pamungkas, an outspoken legislator who was also present at the
seminar as a witness for his side.

"Rudini and Sumitro should also be questioned for my benefit
because I was discussing their papers at the seminar," George
said.

George's case has captured the attention of fellow academics
and human rights campaigners who are concerned over the various
restrictions that the government has re-imposed over the past few
months following two years of unprecedented political "openness".
(r. fadjri/pan)