Legislators besiege former top generals<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Three Army generals who ran Indonesia's powerful
\nmilitary for much of the last 15 years came under siege as the
\nHouse of Representatives (DPR) demanded their accountability for
\nthe massive atrocities that occurred in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The three men were Try Sutrisno, Armed Forces (ABRI) chief
\nbetween 1988 and 1993 and vice president from 1993 and 1998;
\nFeisal Tanjung, ABRI chief in 1993-1998 and coordinating minister
\nfor political affairs and security in 1998-1999; and L.B.
\nMoerdani, ABRI chief in 1983-1988 and defense minister in 1988-
\n1993.<\/p>\n
The hearing was the latest in a series conducted by the House,
\nwhich appears desperate to show to the troubled people of Aceh
\nthat those responsible for the human right abuses will be taken
\nto task.<\/p>\n
Also summoned were Ibrahim Hasan, the civilian Aceh governor
\nwho requested the implementation of a military operation in 1989
\nto quell an armed rebellion; former home minister Lt. Gen. (ret.)
\nSyarwan Hamid, who led the military command in Aceh in 1989; Maj.
\nGen. (ret.) Pramono, who was chief of the Bukit Barisan Command;
\nand Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim, an intelligence officer, and
\nthe only man still in uniform at Monday's hearing.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the House grilled Gen. Wiranto, the military
\nchief between March 1998 until last October and now coordinating
\nminister for political affairs and security.<\/p>\n
After Try and Ibrahim made their statements on behalf of the
\ngroup in which they defended the policy of military deployment,
\nmembers of the House's special committee on Aceh deplored the
\nabsence of any remorse in their explanations, even as the facts
\nclearly showed that their policy had gone wrong.<\/p>\n
During their heydays in power, their statements would have
\nbeen enough and no further questions would have been asked. There
\nwas none of that on Monday as legislators tore their statements
\nto pieces.<\/p>\n
To the committee members, the hearing was as much an
\nopportunity to attack the former powerful generals as a chance to
\ndemand explanations. Others tried to expand their portfolio by
\nasking Moerdani about bloody military operations elsewhere in the
\ncountry during his term as military chief.<\/p>\n
\"Don't you feel the least bit morally responsible for what
\nhappened in Aceh?\" asked Julius Usman, a representative of the
\nPDI Perjuangan faction.<\/p>\n
Julius accused Ibrahim of \"selling\" Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"When you said you requested the military operation to secure
\nvital economic projects, did you not mean the projects belonging
\nto the cronies of Soeharto?\" he said.<\/p>\n
Try in his explanation appeared to be completely out of touch
\nwith the changing times when he engaged the House with dated
\nrhetoric about national security and foreign intervention.<\/p>\n
He was interrupted by a committee member who pointedly told
\nhim: \"Don't lecture us. Just answer the questions.\"<\/p>\n
Forced to address the question directly, Try denied
\naccusations the military was involved in various atrocities.<\/p>\n
\"There was no such thing. We only executed our task to ensure
\nthe safety and security of the state,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The government at the time was carrying out its state duty as
\nmandated. Everything we did was based on that\".<\/p>\n
Qualifying his statement, Try asked for understanding: \"If you
\njudge the past with current values then it won't match\".<\/p>\n
Both Syarwan and Zacky then went into a lengthy explanation on
\nhow difficult operations were in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Operations there was most difficult as we could not tell
\nbetween rebels and regular civilians,\" Zacky told legislators,
\nwho appeared aloof after being given rhetorical answers during
\nthe four-hour, evening hearing.<\/p>\n
Ibrahim Hasan after a lengthy explanation, seemed to lightly
\nbrush aside the criticism of him: \"You criticize from the point
\nof view of a new regime toward the old regime\".<\/p>\n
L.B. Moerdani quietly sat and listened. It was only after
\nlegislators called for him to speak that he said a few words.<\/p>\n
He claimed he was not involved in Acehnese affairs because as
\nminister of defense most matters on the military operations in
\nAceh which started in 1989 were handled by the Armed Forces
\nchief.<\/p>\n
\"I think the committee made a mistake in inviting me, that's
\nwhy I can't say much. Next time if you have questions just summon
\nthe (former) Armed Forces chief,\" he said, pointing to Try who
\nwas sitting beside him.<\/p>\n
The hearing ended without any clear conclusion on how to
\nresolve the Aceh issue or what to do about alleged atrocities of
\nthe past. (emb\/04\/byg\/emf\/mds)<\/p>",
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