Thousands of people take to the streets to support KPK

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Special Report | Wed, November 04 2009, 10:44 AM 

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, about 300 people staged a rally demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono save the KPK.

“We urge the President to take a firm stance and save the KPK,” said the rally’s coordinator, Ervyn Kaffah.




Thousands of people across the country Tuesday continued to stage rallies to express support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as the Constitutional Court heard controversial tape recordings related to the arrest of the two KPK deputy chiefs.

In front of the court, dozens of policemen tightly guarded the rallies held by different groups, some of which supported the KPK, while others supported the police.


In front of the court, hundreds of university students strongly rejected the criminalization of the KPK.
However, hundreds of others also supported the arrest of the KPK deputy chiefs, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, saying the two were mafia, not heroes.

The court heard tape recordings allegedly describing a plot to frame the two KPK deputy chiefs in a judicial review filed by the detained commissioners against the law on the KPK.

A number of top law enforcers were mentioned in the recordings, the transcripts of which were
widely circulated prior to the court hearing.

Bibit and Chandra were declared suspects on Sept. 15 and detained on Oct. 29 for alleged abuse of power and bribery.

The detention of the KPK leaders has sparked outcry through various means over the last few days, including rallies across the country and the use of Facebook groups.

Chandra and Bibit are seeking a judicial review of Article 32 of the 2002 law on the KPK, which orders the suspension of KPK leaders for their implication in criminal cases and their dismissal once they stand trial.
The plaintiffs say the article violates the Constitution, which upholds the presumption of innocence principle.
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, about 300 people staged a rally demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono save the KPK.

“We urge the President to take a firm stance and save the KPK,” said the rally’s coordinator, Ervyn Kaffah.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, the Makassar Islamic Students Salvation Assembly Organization (HMI-MPO), the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI), and the Love Indonesia, Love KPK (Cicak) also held a demonstration on Tuesday.

Dozens of students also took to the streets in Situbondo, East Java, to show support for the detained KPK deputy chiefs.

Panca Nugraha from Mataram and Andi Hajramurni from Makassar also contributed to this story.

sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/11/04/thousands-people-take-streets-support-kpk.html