Max Lane
On August 21, Chuzaini, the radical left-wing Peoples Democratic Party's chairperson in the Javanese provincial town of Pekalongan, died in the local prison. PRD national chairperson Yusuf Lakaseng told the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission that the examining doctor had said that Chuzaini had died from tuberculosis and inflammation of the lungs due to being kept in a damp place.
A statement issued by the PRD charged both the prison system and the hospitals with what amounts to criminal negligence, refusing Chuzaini adequate treatment because he could not pay the hospital "costs". The statement contrasts the inadequate treatment accorded to Chuzaini with that accorded to former dictator Suharto's son Tommy Suharto, who has been flown out of prison by helicopter to one the elite hospitals in Jakarta whenever he needed medical treatment.
Chuzaini was buried in Pekalongan on August 23. More than 500 people attended his funeral, which turned into an anti-government protest action immediately afterwards.
Chuzaini had been imprisoned for "insulting the head of state" in 1998 during the last stages of the fight against the Suharto regime. He spent most of 1998 in jail. In 2002, he was arrested for distributing leaflets exposing a corruption scandal connected to the construction of a new bus terminal. He was tried and sentenced to a prison term of five years.
On August 26, the PRD organised a delegation to the National Human Rights Commission that also demanded that the justice and human rights minister, who is in charge of prisons, be held responsible for Chuzaini's death. Habiburokhman, from the People's Lawyers Union, who accompanied the PRD delegation, also demanded the release of all other political prisoners.
Among those still in jail are Yoyok and Mahendra, both serving two-year sentences in a Yogyakarta prison for "insulting the head of state", and Cahyalana, who is serving a four-year sentence in Lampung on the same charge. There are also scores of prisoners being held in Aceh, most of whom have not been tried.
If you wish to contribute any funds to help the campaigns to free these political prisoners or to help provide extra food and medicines to them contact Max Lane at <max_lane@bigpond.com>.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, September 1, 2004.
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