What to expect from Ambon's judiciary
What to expect from Ambon's judiciary
The moustached judge had no intention of playing hero.
Upon receiving notification that he would be transferred to
his hometown in war-torn Ambon, Maluku, two years ago, J.
Hehamoni tried to stall, saying he intended to study for his
doctorate in Denpasar.
But the then minister of justice, the late Baharuddin Lopa,
told his subordinates: "He's Ambonese, he has to go."
So Hehamoni went to Ambon after received the decree on his new
assignment, with his tearful wife.
On their first day in the capital she immediately repacked
their bags the minute she heard a volley of gunshots. "The
neighbors laughed and laughed," he said. "They said, 'the shots
are still so far away! Pack later when they get closer!'"
Hehamoni joined the district court, bringing the number of
judges there to three. Now the court has six judges -- though it
may soon be three again with Hehamoni and two colleagues due to
be reassigned.
After his time in Maluku, Hehamoni, currently the district
court's spokesman, has a few tips to share.
One, stay cool.
Two, "One must be very wise and look carefully at the
political nuances behind the legal issues."
Keeping cool and being wise proved extremely useful the day a
group of Laskar Jihad (LJ) members filled Hehamoni's fairly small
courtroom and pointed at him, shouting, "This is an RMS judge,
kill him!"
RMS, or the Republik Maluku Selatan, refers to the separatist
movement that was active in the 1950s and was perceived to be
Christian dominated. The issue of the RMS was revived by some
during the recent conflict in Maluku.
Hehamoni, the only available judge to preside over the tense
hearing, finally refused to order the release of LJ leader Ja'far
Umar Thalib.
Criminal charges against Ja'far were being heard by the East
Jakarta District Court, which had earlier ordered an extension of
his detention. Ja'far was arrested in Surabaya on charges of
provoking violence while in Ambon in April 2002, allegedly
leading an attack on a Christian village.
The court, however, approved Ja'far's objection to an order
from the local prosecutor's office to detain him in Ambon.
Hehamoni said the order was legally flawed.
A third tip for future judges in Ambon, which Hehamoni did
not mention, would be to make sure you have some extra stamina
when you are the only judge trying 168 alleged supporters and
members of the RMS in the short period determined by the
detention deadline.
For the marathon hearings of the alleged RMS members, in which
most of the defendants were charged with subversion, Hehamoni
said: "The witness pleaded with me to be relieved of his task,
but he was about the only witness we had for all the cases."
Hehamoni says a potential time bomb in the province is
disputes over property rights, as people begin returning to their
homes only to find them occupied by refugees.
This is a pressing matter that must be anticipated, he said.
Judges in Ambon and other conflict areas need not be heroes,
but they do need a bit of steel in them. A lawyer here,
explaining the shortage of judges, said: "Who wants to be in the
spotlight, holding the gavel announcing court verdicts in
critical cases?" -- Ati Nurbaiti
The moustached judge had no intention of playing hero.
Upon receiving notification that he would be transferred to
his hometown in war-torn Ambon, Maluku, two years ago, J.
Hehamoni tried to stall, saying he intended to study for his
doctorate in Denpasar.
But the then minister of justice, the late Baharuddin Lopa,
told his subordinates: "He's Ambonese, he has to go."
So Hehamoni went to Ambon after received the decree on his new
assignment, with his tearful wife.
On their first day in the capital she immediately repacked
their bags the minute she heard a volley of gunshots. "The
neighbors laughed and laughed," he said. "They said, 'the shots
are still so far away! Pack later when they get closer!'"
Hehamoni joined the district court, bringing the number of
judges there to three. Now the court has six judges -- though it
may soon be three again with Hehamoni and two colleagues due to
be reassigned.
After his time in Maluku, Hehamoni, currently the district
court's spokesman, has a few tips to share.
One, stay cool.
Two, "One must be very wise and look carefully at the
political nuances behind the legal issues."
Keeping cool and being wise proved extremely useful the day a
group of Laskar Jihad (LJ) members filled Hehamoni's fairly small
courtroom and pointed at him, shouting, "This is an RMS judge,
kill him!"
RMS, or the Republik Maluku Selatan, refers to the separatist
movement that was active in the 1950s and was perceived to be
Christian dominated. The issue of the RMS was revived by some
during the recent conflict in Maluku.
Hehamoni, the only available judge to preside over the tense
hearing, finally refused to order the release of LJ leader Ja'far
Umar Thalib.
Criminal charges against Ja'far were being heard by the East
Jakarta District Court, which had earlier ordered an extension of
his detention. Ja'far was arrested in Surabaya on charges of
provoking violence while in Ambon in April 2002, allegedly
leading an attack on a Christian village.
The court, however, approved Ja'far's objection to an order
from the local prosecutor's office to detain him in Ambon.
Hehamoni said the order was legally flawed.
A third tip for future judges in Ambon, which Hehamoni did
not mention, would be to make sure you have some extra stamina
when you are the only judge trying 168 alleged supporters and
members of the RMS in the short period determined by the
detention deadline.
For the marathon hearings of the alleged RMS members, in which
most of the defendants were charged with subversion, Hehamoni
said: "The witness pleaded with me to be relieved of his task,
but he was about the only witness we had for all the cases."
Hehamoni says a potential time bomb in the province is
disputes over property rights, as people begin returning to their
homes only to find them occupied by refugees.
This is a pressing matter that must be anticipated, he said.
Judges in Ambon and other conflict areas need not be heroes,
but they do need a bit of steel in them. A lawyer here,
explaining the shortage of judges, said: "Who wants to be in the
spotlight, holding the gavel announcing court verdicts in
critical cases?" -- Ati Nurbaiti