A call of the conscience?<\/p>\n
At last, the court martial has begun of 11 members of the Army
\nSpecial Forces (Kopassus) involved in the kidnaping of pro-
\ndemocracy activists. People had feared that this case would
\nremain in the dark forever... Fortunately, the public now has a
\nchance to see the faces of those robust, well-trained men who had
\nthe heart to torture and kidnap people because, as they said,
\nthey were called by their conscience.<\/p>\n
From the beginning, people have been highly skeptical about
\nwhether the case of the abduction of political activists would
\never be totally exposed. People widely believed that the
\ncomplexities and the background of this politically charged case
\nwould forever remain in the dark. The point was, it was never
\nclear whether those who gave the (kidnap) orders to the 11 men
\nwho are now on trial would ever be brought to court.<\/p>\n
(Former Kopassus commander Lt. Gen.) Prabowo Subianto, who has
\nalready openly admitted his responsibility in the case and who
\nwas subsequently dismissed, has been able to leave the country
\nfreely and has up to this moment not returned. Lately, even,
\nanother development has emerged: Prabowo is reported to have
\nreceived honorary citizenship status from Jordan.<\/p>\n
Another question that has remained unanswered up to the
\npresent concerns the fate of the 14 kidnap victims who have still
\nnot been found. According to information provided by victims who
\nwere released (by the kidnapers), some of those others were at
\none time or another locked up with them in the same cell.
\nHowever, the charges that were read out by the military
\nprosecutor at the first hearing of the tribunal did not mention
\nthe fate of those still missing. It is likely that they will
\nremain missing forever and that the identity of the perpetrators
\n(of the crime) will never be known.<\/p>\n
The 11 defendants now on trial in the military tribunal are
\npeople who are prepared to be convicted since the charges that
\nhave been brought against them are legitimate. However, it can be
\nsaid for certain that the public's thirst for complete
\ninformation regarding the abductions will not be satisfied. This
\ntrial is being held because the case has somehow come to the
\npublic's attention. Had it been otherwise, a mere call to the
\nconscience to respect human rights would not have been strong
\nenough to expose the case.<\/p>\n
The law still exhibits some painful inequities. Subordinates
\nwho follow orders must bear the blame of those who issued the
\norders. Senior officers who appropriately should bear the
\nultimate responsibility can go scot-free merely by saying, \"I was
\nnot aware of what happened.\" It appears that our leaders,
\nmilitary as well as civilian, still have to learn about the
\nconcept of responsibility. If those 11 lower ranking defendants
\ncan say they were following the call of their conscience, where,
\nthen, is the conscience of their superiors?<\/p>\n
-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-call-of-the-conscience-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }