Wardah goes to Attorney General's Office

JAKARTA (JP): Braving intimidation, Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) reported findings of alleged abuse by the People's Sovereignty Party (PDR) and Golkar of social safety net funds worth US$800 million to the Election Supervisory Committee on Monday.

Wardah earlier tried to report the UPC findigs to the Attorney General's Office but was unable to meet with officials there.

At almost the same time as Wardah reported the findings, a news conference was given by Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi Sasono, who reportedly helped found the PDR, saying UPC's allegation was politically motivated.

Officials at the Attorney General's Office on Jl. Sisingamangaraja, South Jakarta, initially closed their doors on Wardah and her lawyers. Security personnel were seen pushing the lawyers' vehicle, with Wardah inside, out of the grounds.

After a heated argument, officials finally allowed Wardah to enter the building.

Once inside, she canceled her plan to submit her organization's report on the alleged misuse of funds, after discovering that the newly appointed Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Ramelan and one of the directors Bismar Mannu were not there to meet her.

"It is very disappointing because they said earlier they would be available," Wardah said. "This demonstrates the Attorney General's Office is not responsive or ready to receive data from the public."

Wardah was accompanied by lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy.

She went on to visit the Election Supervisory Committee in the Aspac Building on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, submitting to committee member Dadang Hawari her organization's findings on the alleged misuse.

The UPC has accused PDR and Golkar of diverting US$800 million earmarked for a poverty alleviation program for their election campaigns and of distributing the money under the parties' names.

Dadang said after a two-and-half hour meeting that the committee had launched an investigation into the matter.

"The committee at the provincial and regency levels are still trying to gather all the evidence," Dadang said, adding that both parties had denied the allegation.

Wardah said she was pessimistic the committee would be able to take any significant measures against the two parties.

She told a news conference last week that Golkar and the PDR had used some of the World Bank-funded social safety net funds to help promote their parties.

The Social Safety Net program is a World Bank fund aimed at helping millions of people forced to subsist below the poverty line by the country's economic crisis of the past two years.

Adi's office is in charge of numerous assistance schemes to help farmers and small traders through cooperatives. Adi has denied any formal links with the PDR, despite a huge party newspaper advertisement carrying his picture and identifying him as the party's prospective president.

In a related development, in Yogyakarta, the local Election Supervisory Committee alleged the PDR on May 27 held a party meeting at the compound of the local office of the Ministry of Cooperatives.

Intimidation

During Wardah's visit at the Attorney General's Office, some 30 women's rights activists staged a peaceful protest outside the compound over the alleged funds abuse.

The activists also protested alleged threats leveled against the UPC office and activists. "Stop terrorizing witnesses who try to seek justice and uncover the truth," read one of the placards.

Earlier, Wardah said in a statement the UPC office in East Jakarta had received phone threats before and after the Wednesday press conference.

She also said a group of unidentified people pelted a glass window in the front of the office with stones on Friday.

Secretary-General of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) Mulyana W. Kusumah and PBHI executive director Hendardi also strongly condemned the alleged threats on Monday.

"It must be stressed that the central theme of our client's effort is the government's accountability to the public," Hendardi said in a statement. (23/43/edt/byg/gis)