Witness protection agency sees demand double
Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/18/2011 10:36 PM
The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) says it received 153 protection requests in 2010, up from 74 in 2009 and 10 in 2008.
“This has been good news because it indicates that LPSK’s presence is in line with public expectations. At the same time, it is also a challenge for us given our limited resources - and the loopholes in the legal basis for witness and victim protection,” LPSK chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai told a press conference on Tuesday
Semendawai said 116 requests came from witnesses and victims of general crimes, such as murder and torture and 27 from witnesses and whistle-blowers in corruption cases.
Nine domestic violence victims also requested protection and one request was related to terrorism, he added
Most protection requests came from Java, accounting for 55.26 percent of all requests in 2010. “As many as 30.26 percent requests were from Sumatra, 5.29 percent from Kalimantan, while the rest was from Eastern Indonesia,” Semendawai added.
The LPSK has been seeking a revision of the 2006 Law on Witness and Victim Protection to accommodate a stronger authority for the agency to summon and question people.
“We also plan to establish branch offices at the provincial level,” Semendawai said.
He added the agency had formed a selection committee to pick two new members to replace I Ketut Sudiharsa and Myra Diarsi, who were dismissed for ethical violations for their role in the alleged incrimination of two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen .
