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Govt says intervening Singapore's judiciary impossible
Ary Hermawan , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 07/31/2009 4:36 PM | National
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Friday it was impossible for the government to press the Singaporean government over the country's coroner's inquest into the death of Indonesian student, David Hartanto Wijaya.
"This is a legal matter. There is a limit to the government's role. We cannot interfere with their judiciary as we never want foreign parties to meddle with our own judiciary," he told reporters.
The government did however offer its help to facilitate the student's family’s request to the Singaporean High Court to review Wednesday's verdict that ruled that David committed suicide, and was not murdered as his family believed.
Hassan said there was no way for the family to bring the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ) because the international courts deal with high profile cases such as territorial disputes and genocides.
After all, Hassan added, both Indonesia and Singapore have not ratified the Rome Statute and become member states of the ICC.
"Please don't give 'angin surga' (false hope) to the family," he said.
Hartanto Wijaya, David’s father, accused the government of failing to help him seek justice in Singapore where he believed the local authorities have conspired to murder his son and cover up the case.
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Gading (not verified), bogor — Sat, 08/01/2009 - 2:12pm
Well i have to agree with our foreign minister. The ICJ (International Court of Justice)as a matter of fact only deals with inter-State diputes, such as territorial boundaries dispute between states. And on the other hand, the ICC (International Criminal Court) deals only with the most grave crimes committed by individuals, such as genocide and crimes against humanity. David Hartanto's lawyer should have known this.Jkt resident (not verified), Jkt — Fri, 07/31/2009 - 6:56pm
I agree with the FM that we should not give the family false hope. Afterall, we do not want other countries to meddle with our own legal systems. On the hindsight - so many witness and evidence points to suicide - I think the fmaily can rest assured all has been done to prove otherwise.