Calls on Wahid-Megawati government of Indonesia to introduce far-reaching
democratic reforms to release all political prisoners, establish an independent
judiciary and declare an all-out war on corruption
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): DAP calls
on President Wahid and Vice-President Megawati of Indonesia to introduce
far-reaching political reforms to release all political prisoners,
establish an independent judiciary and declare an all-out war on
corruption.
The scores of political prisoners still being held in Aceh and West
Papua (Irian Jaya) and the 16 East Timorese prisoners being held in Semarang
Prison, three of whom have been in prison since the Santa Cruz massacre
in November 1991, should be released immediately.
The Indonesian Judiciary, now deeply penetrated by the military and
open to corruption, should be overhauled to ensure that the judiciary is
based not on political power and bribery but on the rule of law.
There should be a re-opening of investigation into the wealth of former
President Suharto, his family and cronies and prosecution of all
who had been corrupt to demonstrate that no one is above the law.
President Wahid should move quickly away from the old pattern
of responding to social unrests almost exclusively with force and focus
instead on addressing the underlying political and economic problems.
President Wahid should also urgently address deep-seated grievances
in Aceh and Irian Jaya, and one of those grievances is the failure
of the Indonesian government to prosecute military officers responsible
for human rights abuses.
(26/10/99)
*Lim Kit Siang - Malaysian Parliamentary
Opposition Leader, Democratic Action Party Secretary-General & Member
of Parliament for Tanjong