Lawyers take bylaw to Supreme Court

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 04/21/2006 10:35 AM

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Tangerang

Lawyers representing a group opposed to what they consider discriminatory local ordinances filed a request for judicial review of Tangerang's prostitution bylaw Thursday at the Supreme Court.

One of the lawyers for the Coalition for Opposition to Discriminating Local Ordinances, Hermawanto, said the bylaw violated the presumption of innocence.

""This bylaw automatically implies people are guilty before proven,"" Hermawanto said, adding the bylaws also violated the Constitution, the Criminal Code as well as the international declaration of human rights.

""None of these documents discriminate on the basic of gender, while the bylaw humiliates women.""

Another lawyer from the Jakarta office of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI Jakarta), Dedi Ali Ahmad, said the Tangerang administration failed to take into account that most residents in the industrial city were women who worked night shifts.

A worker from the Tangerang office of the National Labor Union, Lilis Mahmudah, said about 75 percent of the union members ""are women who are now scared to go out at night, while many of them must work overtime"".

A Tangerang bylaw passed last year states that anyone drawing suspicion based on his or her ""attitude and behavior, drawing the perception that he/she/they might be a prostitute (s) is prohibited from being on roads, squares"" and in other public places, such as hotels.

This has led to night raids and the mistaken arrest of some women for soliciting.

The team, consisting of PBHI Jakarta, the Jakarta Legal Aid Office (LBH Jakarta) and the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice (LBH Apik), asked the Supreme Court to analyze and issue a ruling on the review request within three months.

""Many people in Tangerang are afraid to do their routine activities due to the bylaw. If the Supreme Court delays ruling on the bylaw any longer, we are afraid that many more people will be victimized,"" said Hermawanto.

Earlier, Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim had asserted that the municipal administration would not stop enforcing the prostitution bylaw despite the request for judicial review.

""I would be happier if the coalition files the request rather than taking to the streets,"" the mayor said, following more protests Wednesday.

His administration submitted a draft of guidelines on enforcement of the bylaw earlier in the day. The guidelines, he said, clearly defined the criteria used in the bylaw to avoid further wrongful arrests.

""I will take stern measures against the officers enforcing the bylaw if they make mistakes,"" he said, inviting the public to report such cases.

Wahidin also denied the ordinance was only based on the interests of certain groups was pushed through with inadequate consideration. Critics say it panders to the interests of Muslim hardliners.

""Issuing the bylaw was a long process and it is final,"" he added. (05)

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