Civilian trial demanded for suspects in Theys murder<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The nine military suspects in the murder of pro-independence
\nPapuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay should be tried in civilian court,
\ninstead of a military tribunal, analyst Kusnanto Anggoro of the
\nCentre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and noted
\nrights activist Todung Mulya Lubis said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Bringing the nine servicemen to a civilian court would bode
\nwell for the principle of equality, they said.<\/p>\n
\"Trying militarymen before the military tribunal will only
\npave the way for them to protect the institution from any
\nwrongdoing,\" Todung said.<\/p>\n
The National Military Police recently revealed that nine
\nsuspects of Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) members would be
\ntried in a military tribunal next month, instead of a human
\nrights tribunal or a regular civilian court.<\/p>\n
Three of the suspects include three middle ranking officers,
\nLt. Col. Hartomo, Maj. Doni Hutabarat and Capt. Rionaldo. The
\nother six are non-commissioned officers.<\/p>\n
The suspects are charged with committing \"an ordinary murder\",
\nand may face a maximum of 15 years in jail if convicted.<\/p>\n
Todung also criticized the military's esprit de corps --
\nabsolute devotion to the military -- which had affected the
\nfairness and transparency of the legal process, as in many cases
\nit had failed to punish its members.<\/p>\n
\"Any cases tried at the military tribunal will not be as open
\nas other trials at a civilian court, because it is not in line
\nwith principles of the due process of law.<\/p>\n
\"Now the question is, should this sense of esprit de corps
\nprotect military operations which often victimize civilians?,\"
\nTodung asked.<\/p>\n
Papuan religious leaders and community leaders demanded
\nearlier that the government bring the case to a human rights
\ncourt as they believe that a political motive was behind Theys'
\nmurder.<\/p>\n
Todung and Kusnanto, however, said that they were not out to
\nchallenge the presence of a military tribunal, but underlined
\nthat the tribunal was supposed to try members of the military who
\nwere accused of violating the military code of ethics, such as
\ndesertion or insubordination.<\/p>\n
\"The military handles all cases by classifying it as
\ndisobedience, even though they may actually be dealing with a
\nhuman rights violation. This, of course, affects the verdict as
\nit will be lighter than ones imposed in the general court,\"
\nKusnanto said.<\/p>\n
Theys was found dead after he was reportedly abducted by
\nunknown armed men on his way home from a function held at the
\nlocal headquarters of Kopassus in November last year.<\/p>\n
Theys' driver, Aristoteles, remains missing and is presumed
\ndead.<\/p>\n
In a bid to unravel the murder, the National Military Police
\ninterviewed a total of 109 witnesses, 40 of whom are military
\nofficers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/civilian-trial-demanded-for-suspects-in-theys-murder-1447893297",
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