Workers' arrest protested

Workers' arrest protested

BANDUNG: Parents of six employees of a match factory went to
West Java Legislative Council on Tuesday, demanding the release
of their children who had been detained since Aug. 30 over
allegedly making fake signatures.

They came to the council accompanied by dozens of workers and
students.

Mamah Sopiah, one of the parents, said that her son, Deden
Rochyadi, had not come home since Aug. 30.

He was detained together with friends Riswan, Ridwan, M. Toha,
Yana and Ade Sumarna. Unusually, the six were detained at Kebon
Waru Penitentiary, instead of a police cell.

According to the law, only people proven guilty (by a court)
for a crime can be sent to a penitentiary, while crime suspects
are usually detained at police stations pending a trial.

"A prison officer said that my son was arrested by the police
for falsifying signatures of his friends who wanted to become
members of a labor union. The officer said that my son would be
tried on Thursday," she told Commission E of the legislature.

The parents were accompanied by a group of students from
Bandung Students Communication Forum, in support of the suspects.
The students' spokesperson, Inggrid M. Sjafna, said that one of
the workers had been dismissed for the alleged offense.

Inggrid said that the six workers had tried to arrange for
their friends to become members of the Prosperous Labor Union. He
added that the six had been planning to join the labor union
since September, 2000.

It was the company who asked them to falsify the signatures of
16 other workers, he said. (25/02)