Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Oei Eng Goan | December 28, 2011
The expression “due process of law,” which is uttered often by law enforcement officials, lawmakers and politicians, has become a mere cliche in the ears of justice seekers, who know all too well that the nation’s judicial system actually favors the rich and powerful.
Justice is very precious for the common people, especially for marginalized and minority groups, but it almost always remains out of reach during confrontations with people of power. In recent weeks we have seen this in several cases, such as the bloody land disputes between farmers and plantation companies in the Mesuji district of Lampung, and again when politicians in Bogor refused to allow a congregation to worship in their own church, even on Christmas Day.
In the first case, local farmers in Lampung were driven away from their homes by security officials for “illegally” occupying land that companies have claimed as part of their plantation areas. In the second case, the Bogor mayor barred people from praying in the GKI Yasmin church on the pretext that it had been built without a proper permit, even though it has been there for years.
In another blatant example, a high school student in Palu, Central Sulawesi, may face a five-year prison term for stealing a pair of sandals, while mobsters who killed three members of the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect in Cikeusik, Banten, in February only received light jail sentences ranging from three to six months. Members of the public raised their eyebrows, questioning whether the verdict of the Banten District Court had been justly given. But again, legal officials answered that everything had been carried out according to “due process of law.”
In a country where corruption is prevalent and judges, prosecutors and police officers can easily be bribed, it is not surprising that many trials are simply travesties of justice. What is right can be wronged and vice versa.
This corrupt justice system explains why the outcomes of many land disputes between the weak and the strong, when brought to court, can be predicted long before the verdicts are read.
These gross social injustices must be stopped once and for all, or else we will likely see more tragedies like those in Mesuji and Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, where police recently opened fire on protestors rallying against a gold mine. There are still mounting cases of land disputes that must be resolved between the government and poor villagers throughout the country.
Overlapping regulations and permits issued by ministries, especially those that deprive villagers of their rights to their land, the source of their livelihood, should be addressed to prevent further bloodshed. The public surely does not want to see National Police officers fighting with their own people, or the scores of fatalities that would result.
It is high time for the government to listen to the advice of human rights activists, who say land disputes are like time bombs that must be diffused immediately before they go off. If such disputes escalate and cause nationwide violence, the country’s stability will be at risk.
As Indonesia’s commander-in-chief, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must take concrete steps to comprehensively solve the issue, as opposed to just setting up toothless investigative teams or task-force units that can only produce written recommendations without a clear follow-up. The president, activists have argued, should not hesitate to replace the regional leaders who have failed to bring peace and prosperity to the local people.
If bold measures are taken, the police will also be relieved from a “damned if we do, damned if we don’t” situation. As we all know, police officers will be blamed if they do not respond firmly against angry crowds that destroy public facilities, but they will also be blamed if their undertakings claim the lives of innocent people.
Hence, National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo should sincerely explain to the public whether the deaths in the bloody violence in Mesuji and Bima resulted from police brutality or, as the police officers have claimed, from acts of self-defense.
The time for hesitation has passed, Mr. President, and the minutes are ticking away to the end of 2011. Millions of Indonesian people have high hopes that justice for all can truly be upheld in the coming new year.
Oei Eng Goan, a former literature lecturer at National University (UNAS) in Jakarta, is a freelance journalist.
Read original post here: The Thinker: Blind Justice for All
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