Jakarta – The Attorney General, Muladi, has said that he will recommend clemency for jailed People's Democratic Party (PRD) activists, including the chairperson of the PRD, Budiman Sudjatmiko, who is presently interned at Cipinang Prison and Dita Indah Sari, who is in the Tangerang Women's Prison.

The request for clemency will be handed over to the Supreme Court next week by the Director General of Public Courts and the State Administrative Court, Parman Suparman.

"The armed forces will not be burdened by the release of the PRD activists. President Habibie has also given the green light over the PRD activists' release. Because of this I will request that the Director General of Public Courts and the State Administrative Court present a request for clemency for the PRD activists", explained Muladi to journalists in Jakarta on Friday (5/3).

The Attorney General also said that he had already recommended to President Habibie that September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party (G30S/PKI) political prisoners should also be released soon. The G30S/PKI prisoners to be freed include up to ten people, however Muladi admitted he did not remember their names.

"The recommendation to free the G30S/PKI political prisoners was made some time ago. Now it is in process. The reason for the recommendation is for the sake of humanity, because most of them are old and sick", he said.

"In presenting the request for clemency, it is hoped that the PRD activists will be freed as fast as possible", said a former member of the National Human Rights Commission.

Muladi admitted that the release of the PRD activists can be done through a process of giving amnesty as with previous political prisoners but that would have to be done though an inter-departmental team and would take longer. The inter-departmental team which has been reviewing the release of political prisoners up until now will be informed however.

According to the Attorney General, he could not himself be certain if all of the eight PRD activist will be let out of prison through a request for clemency. The Department of Justice will study it first along with hearing input from the inter-departmental team which handles issues of political prisoners.

"Legally their is no problem with the PRD, because they have already accepted Pancasila and have been officially registered [as a political party] by the Department of Justice. But as individuals the PRD activists are not the same as the party itself. This means that the PRD must be differentiated from its individual members. The Department of Justice must first study the individual PRD activists case by case", he said.

If the PRD activists who are presently in jail have not been involved in other criminal acts such as violent crimes, the possibility of their release will be greater. "But in order to be sure of this it requires that the matter be viewed on a case by case basis", he said.

Muladi added that the policy of releasing political prisoners as already outlined by the government will continue and is not just a "political trade-off". Of around 250 political prisoners, 180 have already been released.

[Translated by James Balowski, ASIET Publications and Information Officer. The title was the translator's choice.]