Justifiable intervention?<\/p>\n
The United States seems to be pulling out all stops to make
\nsure that Indonesia brings the killers of two Americans in Papua
\nlast August to justice. The killing of the two teachers in
\nTembagapura has been raised at almost every occasion that top
\nofficials of the two governments have met, and is becoming a real
\nsticking point in relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The issue came up again during the meeting between Minister of
\nForeign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda and Secretary of State Colin
\nPowell in Phnom Penh when they attended the ASEAN Regional Forum
\nlast week. On Monday, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
\napproved an amendment banning the release of US$600,000 in
\nmilitary training funds for Indonesia until President George W.
\nBush certified that the Indonesian government would bring to
\njustice those responsible for the attack.<\/p>\n
Some die-hard nationalists might resent this seemingly endless
\nbadgering by the U.S., but to be fair, Washington is only doing
\nwhat any decent government in the world would do for its people:
\nensuring that they are fairly and justly treated, wherever they
\nlive.<\/p>\n
The pursuit of justice for the killing in Tembagapura, in
\nwhich one Indonesian was also shot dead during the ambush by
\nunidentified gunmen, should be a matter of course for the
\nIndonesian government, even without American prodding. Yet, it
\nhas now been 10 months since the shooting took place, and the
\nauthorities have yet to find even a single suspect.<\/p>\n
The police investigation seems to have encountered a stumbling
\nblock because the shooting took place in an area that was
\neffectively under the jurisdiction of the military, and also
\nbecause of indications that soldiers might have been involved.<\/p>\n
The government has agreed to a U.S. request to allow members
\nof the Federal Bureau of Investigation to carry out their own
\ninvestigation. Originally, the FBI was given limited access, but
\nfollowing more pressure from Washington, the Indonesian
\ngovernment (or TNI, to be more precise) relented and has now
\nagreed to give the FBI greater access.<\/p>\n
Whether or not U.S. intervention in this affair is justifiable
\nmay be a matter of debate for politicians and diplomats. It is
\nour hope that this investigation will be completed soon, not only
\nto fulfill the demands of the U.S., but also those on the
\nIndonesian government to ensure that justice is upheld in this
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
This episode is another sad reminder of the poor state of our
\nlegal system and its ability to deliver justice. The fact of the
\nmatter is that justice is hard to come by in this country,
\nespecially when you are confronting powerful people or
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
If you happen to be an American citizen, you can at least
\ncount on the support of your government to intervene -- to ensure
\nthat justice is seen to be done. But if you are an Indonesian
\ncitizen, whether you hail from Aceh, Papua, Jakarta or anywhere
\nelse, what recourse do you have?<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/justifiable-intervention-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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