Justice in Nipah<\/p>\n
Justice has finally come to the villagers of Nipah on the
\nisland of Madura, East Java. Now it is to be hoped that with the
\nreturn of the villagers' peace of mind the former tranquility
\nwill also be restored.<\/p>\n
Although it has taken almost three years for justice to take
\nits course and although not everyone will be entirely satisfied
\nwith the outcome, few people will deny that the military court
\nproceedings that have taken place in Surabaya since the beginning
\nof this month will greatly restore the confidence which most
\npeople have in the fairness of the Armed Forces (ABRI).<\/p>\n
As may be recalled, what was later to become known as the
\nNipah incident stirred up waves of protest. It occurred late in
\n1993 near the town of Sampang on the island of Madura and
\ninvolved a dispute over land between the village population of
\nthe area and the authorities. The act that sparked the violence
\nwas reportedly the measuring of land by the authorities, without
\nthe consent of the villagers, for appropriation as a dam was to
\nbe built on the site.<\/p>\n
On September 25 hundreds of villagers marched to the site and
\na confrontation ensued in which shots were fired by troops,
\nkilling four villagers. Protests immediately arose, from among
\nothers the influential ulemas of the island and from students,
\nwho staged demonstrations in a number of places. A protest also
\ncame from Amnesty International over the alleged arrest and
\ninterrogation of 17 villagers who were believed to have been the
\ndriving force behind the villagers' actions.<\/p>\n
As a result of the public uproar the government shelved the
\nland appropriation in the area for the dam project. The military
\nordered a probe into the incident and said that the soldiers
\nresponsible for the deaths would be brought before a military
\ntribunal if there was evidence to support the allegations.<\/p>\n
Early this month the long-awaited trial began after a long
\ndelay which the military said was due to the prolonged
\ninvestigations. On Monday three soldiers and one policeman were
\ndischarged from the forces and sentenced to prison terms ranging
\nfrom 19 months to two years and four months.<\/p>\n
Again, not everybody may be satisfied with the results of the
\ntrial, as is usually the case with court proceedings.
\nNevertheless, despite the long delay, the manner in which the
\nNipah incident has been resolved, together with several other
\nexamples lately, appears to demonstrate the Armed Forces'
\nincreasing awareness of the importance to give due consideration
\nto the growing sense of fairness and justice that pervades public
\nsentiment.<\/p>\n
For rank-and-file soldiers on duty in the field this case may
\nserve as a reminder that trigger-happiness is not the best way to
\nresolve a crisis. It is quite likely that in the months and years
\nto come popular protests over public policies will increase as a
\nresult of the growing political and social maturity of our
\npeople. It certainly is a heartening sign that those who are in
\ncharge of maintaining order and security are well aware of these
\ndevelopments.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/justice-in-nipah-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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