Samoa’s deepening political crisis has taken yet another turn today after the Attorney-General’s office launched an astounding attack on the country’s judiciary.

The Supreme Court hearing over whether the swearing in of the FAST party outside Parliament was legitimate has been adjourned to next week after the Attorney-General’s office called for the withdrawal of all local judges, citing potential conflicts of interest.

In a media statement, the Attorney-General’s office said the actions of the judiciary was “concerning” after the Chief Justice had tried to open the locked doors of Parliament on Monday.

Hearing adjourned in Samoa over whether FAST Party’s ad hoc swearing in was constitutional. Video: TVNZ News

This came after the Supreme Court had ruled Parliament must sit on Monday but that was ignored by the Speaker of Parliament and incumbent Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi who ordered Parliament closed.

The Attorney-General’s office alleged Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese may be in contempt of Parliament and “as the Chief Justice, the caretaker Speaker and staff are not subject to court jurisdiction as per the law”.

Another case which was to be heard by the Court of Appeal over the extra creation of a seat to meet the minimum 10 percent requirement of women in Parliament is also on hold until next week.

Again the Attorney-General’s office said local judges had a “potential conflict of interest and potential favouritism” as all four cases between the FAST party and HRPP had been ruled against HRPP.

In court today, the Chief Justice asked on what authority the Attorney-General’s office had to dictate the work of the judiciary.

He said the Supreme Court would rule next week over whether there was any merit to the recusal or withdrawal of judges.

Republished with the author’s permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Following yesterday’s parliamentary row in the national chamber of Timor-Leste, chaotic scenes were streamed live on social media today for more than half an hour live as police were called.

Media consultant Bob Howarth reports that the police were called into the Parliament with rival politicians screaming insults and makng threatening gestures.

Lusa newsagency correspondent Antonio Sampaio providing a running commentary in Portuguese, said Howarth.

WATCH: Today’s angry scenes on social media
READ: Earlier story about yesterday’s clash

“All the aggression, according to the commentary, came from former prime minister and ex-president Xanana Gusmao’s CNRT party members,” he said.

“The parliamentary President – Speaker – top table was smashed, allegedly by a CNRT MP. Another was restrained after waving a chair around.”

Journalist Antonio Sampaio reports that several members of Parliament made loud drumming noise on the tables of the Parliament to prevent the deputy speaker (vice president) from conducting a plenary session that was officially unscheduled.

With shouting of “illegal” and “assault on power”, the deputies (MPs) resorted to a long drumming on one of the areas of the tables normally occupied by the government in parliamentary debates.

Oppositon members drumming
At the other end of the table, Vice-President Angelina Sarmento, of PLP, repeatedly tried with a microphone and a portable column to start the plenary which was officially not even on the agenda of Parliament.

Every time she spoke, on the other side the opposition members started drumming, accompanied by claps and other noisy blows on the side of the plenary table.

Without hearing the speeches of Angelina Sarmento, the majority benches – Fretilin, PLP and KHUNTO – held up their green voting cards.

A “symbolic” vote supported dismissal of the President of the National Parliament, Aaron Noah Amaral, but without any validity under parliamentary process.

For the second day in a row, the Timorese Parliament was experiencing moments of tension, which worsened today with CNRT members spilling the presidential table backwards, and the police were called in to maintain order.

The tension began when the parliamentary vice-president tried to occupy the table area to open the plenary, considering she had the legitimacy to do so because President Amaral had not called the plenary.

Several members converged on the parliament table area, with CNRT members turning to the table of ther colleague Amaral to prevent the beginning of plenary.

Screaming and pushing
In a scenario of screaming and pushing, with deputies from various parties climbing into the table area, East Timor National Police Officers (PNTL) took control.

A request had been signed by the majority members who want to vote on the removal of Amaral and should, according to the Rules of Procedure, have been debated in plenary within five days.

This deadline has passed, but the session had not yet been scheduled because of President Amaral’s refusal to hold the plenary.

On Friday, the three governing coalition parties accused Amaral of “abuse of power, against the state and subversion” for paralysing parliamentary procedure.

The majority had asked Vice-President Angelina Sarmento to lead the plenary.

The crisis has come while the country has been dealing with the coronavirus crisis, but Timor-Leste has been declared covid-19 free after all 24 active cases have recovered.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Vice-President of Timor-Leste’s National Parliament, Maria Angelina Sarmento, has been physically removed from a plenary session after she tried to claim the president’s chair.

The chamber erupted into farce yesterday as members of parliamentary President  – or Speaker – Arão Noé Amaral’s CNRT party blocked Sarmento and fellow deputy Luís Roberto from seizing control of the chamber.

The shouting and disorder began when members of the governing bloc of PLP, FRETILIN and KHUNTO entered the chamber, soon after 10 o’clock.

READ MORE: Amid the coronavirus crisis, Arão calls to shut down Parliament 

CNRT members stepped up to the president’s table to block Sarmento, Roberto and their party allies from taking the president’s chair.

“We can give the chair [to the vice-president], but it should be according to the law; don’t come and just seize [it],” CNRT member José Virgilio said, as he guarded the seat.

Tatoli news agency then witnessed the members push Ms Sarmento out of the room. The CNRT members later allowed the two deputies to take their own seats, but continued to block them from the president’s chair.

In a press conference yesterday morning ahead of the plenary, Amaral accused Sarmento – from the rival PLP party – of violating the constitution in a “grab” for power.

“As President of the National Parliament, I want to denounce an attempt by Vice-President Angelina Sarmento to remove [me],” he said. “This act by Angelina Sarmento violates the constitution, parliament rules and the law.”

The role of the parliamentary president has been the subject of a bitter dispute across a number of parties.

The governing bloc of FRETILIN, KHUNTO and PLP want Amaral removed from his post.

Last week, the three parties drafted a letter, signed by a majority of Parliament members, accusing him of “abuses of power”.

However, CNRT and its parliamentary allies are fiercely resisting the move. Amaral has instead insisted President Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo dissolve Parliament and call elections.

President Lú-Olo is a leading figure from rival FRETILIN party, and has clashed with CNRT since the beginning of the 8th Constitutional Government in 2018.

CNRT, led by charismatic former president Xanana Gusmão, has been in a standoff with the president since the last elections in 2018: initially over his decision to reject some of the party’s ministerial nominations; but more recently, because Guterres declined to support CNRT’s bid to take over the government.

The crisis has come while the country has been dealing with the coronavirus crisis, but Timor-Leste has been declared covid-19 free after all 24 active cases have recovered.

The Pacific Media Centre republishes Tatoli articles with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Ryan Dagur in Jakarta

A wave of protests has swept Indonesia in recent days after legislation criminalising criticism of lawmakers took effect last week.

President Joko Widodo has also come under fire for not taking decisive action against the law, labeled by many as a threat to democracy.

The new law follows a string of others in Southeast Asia criminalising criticism of monarchs and legislators — notably in Thailand and Cambodia — further curbing freedom of speech.

READ MORE: RSF condemns ‘disrespect’ criticism ban over Jakarta Parliament

A number of Indonesian rights groups have filed for a judicial review in the Constitutional Court against the law.

The law says Parliament’s Ethics Council can take legal action against individuals, groups or legal entities that “disrespect the dignity” of lawmakers and Parliament as an institution. It also can order police to forcibly summon individuals for questioning.

-Partners-

An online petition at Change.org supported by a coalition of civil society groups, including Indonesia Corruption Watch, the Legislative Monitoring Committee and the Association for Election and Democracy has received significant backing.

Dhenok Pratiwi, campaign manager at Change.org said the petition has collected almost 215,000 signatures over the last four days.

Biggest national petition
“This is the biggest national petition and the fastest supported by the public,” she said on Tuesday.

Hendrik Rosdinar, coordinator of the civil society coalition said the law is “a disaster for Indonesian citizens,” because “anyone who criticizes parliament will have to prepare for a prison sentence.”

A large number of other groups have called for judicial review, including Forum of Law and Constitutional Studies, Indonesian Solidarity Party and students from the University of Indonesia.

Dini Purwono from the Indonesian Solidarity Party’s said the law “endangers justice and democracy.”

“Parliament members have acted against the constitution and the principle of equality before the law,” she told ucanews.com.

Criticism of Widodo
Amid the outcry since Parliament passed the bill on February 13, Widodo has expressed concerns about the legislation.

He also did not sign the law. But the president’s hands were largely tied as once a law is passed by Parliament, he does not have the power of veto and, without his signature, it automatically goes into effect after 30 days.

Widodo told reporters on Monday that he would back a judicial review of the law.

However, he has come under fire from rights activists who condemned him for not spotting what the law would entail during the drafting and revision process.

He was also criticised for not introducing legislation correcting a number of controversial articles in the law.

“His is an ambiguous attitude, as he said he did not want to sign it [the law] because of public opposition to it, but at the same time he does not want to find a way out of this,” said Donal Fariz, coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch.

He said Widodo had thrown that responsibility to society.

“Society has to fix the mistake that has been made by parliament and the government,” Fariz said.

House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said lawmakers would accept the result of a judicial review.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz