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Showing posts from November, 2006

The Senayan Kidnapping Case

Komnas HAM concludes that the 1997-1998 kidnapping case was a severe case of human rights abuse. The AGO awaits a political decision from the DPR. THE abduction will not be easily erased from Mugiyanto’s memory. He was kidnapped in March 1998 and taken hostage for several days in an unknown location in Cijantung, East Jakarta. During his time there he was abused, kicked, and electrocuted. Mugiyanto is considered lucky to have been released, unlike several other kidnap victims. Now he is Chairman of the Indonesian Missing Persons Alliance. This organization continues to put pressure on the government to reveal the kidnapping cases of several activists in 1997 and 1998. “That’s why, even though there is not much new information, the Human Rights Commission report on the kidnapped victims relieves us,” said the former People’s Democratic Party (PRD) Chairman. Two weeks ago, the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) announced its findings on 23 missing people, most of whom are acti

An Uphill Battle

THE National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is supported by the law but has little or no chance in facing the Indonesian Military (TNI). During the course of investigating former and current army members who are suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of activists, only one out of the 23 summoned personnel is willing to testify. On the other hand, only three out of 61 civilians summoned have refused to testify, all of the police personnel have complied with the summons, including former Police Chief, General (ret) Dibyo Widodo. Komnas HAM has tried everything in its power to summon the army personnel. The first summons, sent by special courier, failed. Several personnel have moved away, one security guard refused to receive the summons, and one district official refused to deliver the letter. The only officer who obeyed the first summons was Lt. Gen. (ret) Yusuf Kartanegara, a former member of the Officers’ Honor Council which investigated Prabowo Subianto and Muchdi Pr. Komna

Gong Kasus Penculikan di Senayan

Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia menyatakan kasus penculikan 1997-1998 sebagai pelanggaran berat HAM. Jaksa Agung menunggu keputusan politik DPR. PENYEKAPAN itu tak mungkin hilang dari ingatan Mugiyanto. Pada Maret 1998, ia diculik oleh sejumlah orang tak dikenal dan beberapa hari disimpan di sebuah tempat rahasia di Cijantung, Jakarta Timur. Di sana, menurut pengakuannya, ia disiksa, ditendang, dan disetrum. Tapi, dibanding sejumlah rekannya yang juga diculik, pria 33 tahun ini beruntung. Ia dibebaskan. Kini Mugiyanto memimpin Ikatan Orang Hilang Indonesia. Lembaga inilah yang kini terus mendesak pemerintah untuk membongkar kasus penculikan terhadap para aktivis yang terjadi selama 1997–1998. ”Karena itu, meski tak banyak temuan baru, laporan Komnas soal korban penculikan itu melegakan kami,” ujar bekas salah satu ketua Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD) ini. Dua pekan lalu, Komnas HAM memang mengumumkan temuan perihal hilangnya 23 orang yang sebagian besar aktivis PRD. Komnas menyatakan

Sulitnya Memanggil Baju Hijau

BERPAYUNG hukum, tapi tak bergigi menghadapi tentara. Inilah nasib Komnas HAM yang berupaya memeriksa para anggota dan bekas anggota TNI yang diduga terlibat atau mengetahui kasus penculikan para aktivis. Dari 23 tentara yang dipanggil, hanya satu yang sudi memberi kesaksian. Ini berbeda dengan saksi dari sipil dan polisi. Dari 61 warga sipil dipanggil, hanya tiga yang tak bersedia datang. Sedangkan dari 18 polisi yang dipanggil, semuanya datang, termasuk mantan Kepala Polri Jenderal (Purn.) Dibyo Widodo. Komnas sudah menempuh berbagai cara untuk memanggil para anggota TNI itu. Surat panggilan pertama, misalnya, mereka kirim ke alamat anggota TNI itu lewat kurir khusus. Pemanggilan ini gagal. Ada yang alamatnya sudah pindah, ada penjaga rumah yang tak sudi menerima surat panggilan itu, dan ada pula aparat kelurahan yang tak mau dititipi. Satu-satunya yang datang pada panggilan pertama adalah Letnan Jenderal (Purn.) Yusuf Kartanegara, bekas anggota Dewan Kehormatan Perwira yang memeriks

Blackmailing Prosecutors from the South

The absence of money evidence could free two prosecuting attorneys charged with blackmailing Jamsostek Director Achmad Djunaidi. THE two attorneys, Cecep Sunarto and Burdju Ronni Allan Felix, were not wearing their “royal uniforms” when appearing in the South Jakarta District Court, Thursday last week. They were not on duty as “prosecuting attorneys,” since they were the persons being prosecuted, the defendants. The two kept mum most of the time. “Just ask my attorney,” said Burdju in reply to questions being fired by reporters. Cecep, 38, and Burdju, 35, the two prosecutors from the South Jakarta District Court, were suspected of having extorted the former PT Jamsostek Director, Achmad Djunaidi, from November through December last year. At that time, Djunaidi was undergoing an investigation involving the suspected corruption of Rp331 billion. The case involving the two prosecutors started from the reading of the verdict on Djunaidi on April 27. The judges headed by Sri Mulyati gave Dj

Money and influence

The Jayapura court acquits a policeman alleged to have taken a bribe from illegal loggers. Prior to the court hearing, the judge believed the defendant would be freed. POLICE Commissioner Marthen Renouw sighed with relief. After nine months of going back and forth attending the court hearings in the Jayapura court, eventually the judge’s gavel was banged in his favor. The panel of judges declared him not guilty. The charges of the prosecuting attorney that the 49-year-old man took a bribe from illegal logging bosses were not proven. The October 6 ruling over the case barely escaped the media attention. In Papua, Renouw, known as Reno, was a well-known policeman whose special task was to bust illegal loggers. But his job got him sent to jail and interrogated by the National Police HQ in August 2005. According to presiding judge Lodewyk Tiwery, Reno was not proven guilty of taking a bribe, since the prosecuting attorney was unable to present the key witnesses, the bribers. The prosecuto

Drama Jaksa dari Selatan

Tiadanya barang bukti uang bisa meloloskan dua jaksa yang dituduh memeras bekas Direktur PT Jamsostek Achmad Djunaidi. Bukti yang ada hanya segepok sambungan telepon. Kedua jaksa itu, Cecep Sunarto dan Burdju Ronni Allan Felix, tidak mengenakan "baju kebesarannya" saat tampil di Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Selatan, Kamis pekan lalu. Ia tidak sedang bertugas sebagai "jaksa penuntut", tapi justru menjadi orang yang dituntut alias terdakwa. Kedua jaksa itu juga lebih banyak tutup mulut. "Silakan tanya pengacara saya," kata Burdju menjawab berondongan pertanyaan wartawan. Cecep, 38 tahun, dan Burdju, 35 tahun, keduanya jaksa dari Kejaksaan Negeri Jakarta Selatan, diduga melakukan pemerasan terhadap bekas Direktur PT Jamsostek, Achmad Djunaidi, sepanjang November sampai Desember tahun lalu. Kala itu Djunaidi tengah diperiksa berkaitan dengan dugaan kasus korupsi Rp 331 miliar yang dilakukannya. Kasus yang menyeret dua jaksa ini bermula dari sidang pembacaan vonis

Karena Berpengaruh dan Berduit

Pengadilan Jayapura memvonis bebas seorang polisi yang diduga menerima suap dari para pembalak liar. Sebelum sidang, hakim yakin terdakwa bakal bebas. KOMISARIS Polisi Marthen Renouw kini bisa menarik napas lega. Setelah sekitar sembilan bulan bolak-balik menghadiri sidang di Pengadilan Jayapura, akhirnya palu hakim berpihak padanya. Majelis hakim Pengadilan Negeri Jayapura menyatakan dia tidak bersalah. Dakwaan jaksa Dadang Setiadji, yang menyatakan pria 49 tahun itu menerima suap dari para cukong kayu ilegal, dinyatakan tak terbukti. Putusan kasus Marthen ini dibacakan pada sidang 6 Oktober silam yang nyaris luput dari sorotan media. Di Papua, Marthen, yang biasa dipanggil Reno, termasuk polisi yang terkenal. Tugas khususnya melibas para pembalak liar alias pelaku illegal logging. Namun, karena tugasnya pula ia masuk bui dan diperiksa Markas Besar Polri pada Agustus 2005. Menurut ketua majelis hakim, Lodewyk Tiwery, Marthen tak terbukti menerima suap karena jaksa tak mampu menghadirk

A Gift for Mother’s Day

The Human Trafficking Bill is being discussed by the DPR. Its definition and the penalties it carries are more extensive than those mentioned in the Criminal Code. IF the examination is completed by next month, the regulations will be issued just around Mother’s Day. The inquiry, which started last July, has been running smoothly. “Members of the DPR (House of Representatives) as well as the government agree on the same point; human trafficking must be stopped,” said Latifah Iskandar, head of the Planning Committee on the Human Trafficking Bill. Meutia Hatta Swasono, State Minister for Women’s Empowerment who represents the government, hopes the draft can be finished as soon as possible. The daughter of Indonesia’s first Vice President, Mohammad Hatta, is optimistic that the regulation will be issued next month on December 22. “We have long been waiting for this regulation because the number of victims is increasing,” said Swasono. The proposal for the draft is not a new one. President

Kado untuk Hari Ibu

Undang-Undang Perdagangan Orang sedang dibahas di DPR. Definisi dan hukumannya lebih luas dan berat ketimbang dalam Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana. ***- JIKA saja pembahasannya rampung bulan depan, undang-undang ini bisa disebut kado untuk kaum ibu. Dibahas sejak pertengahan Juli lalu, rancangan undang-undang (RUU) yang melarang perdagangan orang ini bak meluncur di jalan tol. Mulus, bebas hambatan, dan tak ada pertentangan antara pemerintah dan DPR. “Sikap anggota Dewan dan pemerintah sama, perdagangan manusia harus disetop,” ujar Ketua Panitia Khusus RUU Pemberantasan Tindak Pidana Perdagangan Orang, Latifah Iskandar, kepada Tempo pekan lalu. Meutia Hatta Swasono, Menteri Negara Pemberdayaan Perempuan, yang mewakili pemerintah, mengharap RUU ini secepatnya diselesaikan. Jika melihat pembahasannya di DPR, putri mantan wakil Presiden Mohammad Hatta ini optimistis, RUU tersebut selesai bulan depan, dalam suasana peringatan Hari Ibu, 22 Desember. ”Undang-undang ini telah lama ditunggu