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Human Rights Activists Slam Indonesian Military Over Abuses
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| On national
army's Struggle Day, President Sukarnoputri urged the armed forces not to
be hindered by fear of committing human rights abuses |
Report
by IOL correspondent, Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA, 10 Jan. (IslamOnline) - A human rights group slammed the Indonesian military (TNI) Thursday for refusing to answer summons by the Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM).
The army is accused of abuses and rights violations in the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents. The rights group said the army's rejection showed their lack of understanding of the role of KPP HAM.
Secretary General of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Asmara Nababan, told The Jakarta Post Wednesday that KPP HAM was established to investigate gross human rights violations in three separate incidents.
The Komnas HAM added that the House of Representatives (MPR) was instrumental in issuing a legal recommendation that would force the military officers to be named as respondents to depose at the inquiry.
In the past, the MPR decided there were no violations by the military during the Trisakti incidents when the army fired live ammunitions on demonstrating students.
The Komnas HAM insists that the MPR’s decision is not a legal one and therefore Komnas HAM may embark on a fresh round of investigations.
The rights body has sent letters to the head of the TNI, Admiral Widodo A.S., to explain the reasons why the military must be cooperative on the issue.
"The TNI chief will hopefully meet us within the next two or three days," Asmara said. "If they insist on rejecting the plan, we will use our subpoena powers to force them to comply with our summons."
The names of the high-ranking military officers or high-ranking police officers involved in the incidents are yet to be disclosed. However, the commission implied that some of the commanders at the operational level up to the officers, who were in charge in making policies, could be queried.
Generals that have already been questioned by the MPR will not be summoned again.
On Monday, the TNI leadership said a KPP HAM investigation is irrelevant and they saw no need to comply, since the MPR had already conducted their investigation concluding that there were no gross human rights violations in the shooting incidents.
Four Trisakti University students were shot dead in May 1998, after they held a demonstration against Suharto’s regime, triggering widespread riots across the country. This forced the former president to step down in disgrace.
The Semanggi incidents occurred during the short tenure of B.J. Habibie, Suharto’s successor. Thousands of students demanded politicians -- including the military -- to introduce sweeping reforms. The protests were, however, repressed by security personnel.
Mounting public pressure forced the MPR, the highest legislative body in Indonesia to establish a special committee in 2000 to probe the cases and question several army and police generals.
Several big names were interrogated, including the former Armed Forces General (ret) Wiranto.
The legislators, however, issued a controversial conclusion to the effect that there were no gross human rights violations in the fatal shooting incidents in which 30 young people, mostly students, were killed, and therefore the cases should be tried in a military tribunal.
Separately, Wiranto said that the TNI had rejected the plan because the cases had been politicized and ignored the principle of presumption of innocence.
He also said that the TNI did not intend to violate human rights as "they were only trying to guard the country from more massive riots, as well as to secure the national agenda."
"I hope the political elites understand that their current positions were secured because of our (military) action and sacrifice," Wiranto warned.
The military has also been accused in the massacre in East Timor, which flared up in violence after the territory voted massively for independence from Indonesia in 1998.
Killings in Aceh and other rebel regions of Indonesia has also been blamed on the army, accusing it of repression and abuses though no actions have been taken against anyone.
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