Where is our country heading?

Where is our country heading?

From Republika

We are very concerned with the recent implementation of the law in Indonesia. Many court cases were engineered to suit certain groups.

In both criminal and civil cases, defendants went free, or were deliberately released at the cost of someone else's freedom. We do not really know if these scapegoats were paid to act in such a way. They might have been provided with security and welfare for as long as they live, or they could have been framed.

Many cases point to shoddy execution of the law, beginning with the July 27 case, followed by the case involving the slaying of the Bernas daily reporter and continuing right up to the shooting of Zainudin Lesmana on the Jagorawi toll road. The Court of Justice is regarded as the last bastion of justice, which is found to be not functioning at all. If so, where can we seek justice?

It is as if a certain group were immune to the law. They always get away scot-free. We recall Udin's murder case. How sad and deeply embarrassing the case ended, as it ran into complications of a wholly unsuitable nature. The poor man, already a victim of murder, was later suspected of leading a secret love life with someone else's spouse.

In Republika's Oct. 24, 1996 issue, one can see clearly that the case was engineered by a certain party. Again, where are we going as a law-abiding nation?

IMAM BASTORI

Jakarta