Military personnel face court-martial next week<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Nineteen members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) will
\nface a court-martial next week for their alleged involvement in
\nthe May 12 shootings at Trisakti University which left four
\nstudent protesters dead, according to Minister of Defense and
\nSecurity\/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.<\/p>\n
\"We will soon submit their dossiers to the Jakarta Military
\nTribunal and the case will be heard next week,\" Wiranto said
\nafter installing Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto as chief of ABRI's
\nStaff and Command School here yesterday. Prabowo replaced Lt.
\nGen. Arie J. Kumaat, whose next assignment at the Armed Forces
\nHeadquarters has yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
Wiranto did not give the exact date of the trial, but said the
\nsuspects had acted in an undisciplined manner and had gone
\n\"beyond proper limits\", violating ABRI procedures.<\/p>\n
He also said ABRI Headquarters was currently \"consolidating\"
\nthe results of its investigation with those conducted by the
\nNational of Commission on Human Rights, Jakarta Police
\nHeadquarters and Trisakti University.<\/p>\n
ABRI spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab Mokodongan said the 19
\nincluded nine low- and middle-ranking officers, six
\nnoncommissioned officers and four privates.<\/p>\n
Neither Wiranto nor Wahab were willing to release the names of
\nthe suspects and their units. Wahab told reporters to wait until
\nthe case was tried, citing that a presumption of innocence must
\nbe upheld.<\/p>\n
Wahab also said the commanders of the West Jakarta Police and
\nthe West Jakarta Military District had recently been questioned.<\/p>\n
Chief of the National Military Police Corps Maj. Gen. Syamsu
\nDjalal said all of the suspects had been in military police
\ncustody since yesterday.<\/p>\n
Scapegoat<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo insisted that none of
\nhis men had used live ammunition during the incident.<\/p>\n
He rejected allegations that his officers had violated
\nstandard procedures.<\/p>\n
Security forces are required to use blanks or rubber bullets
\nwhen confronting rioters or protesters. Live ammunition is to be
\nused as a last resort.<\/p>\n
\"We have checked with every officer assigned there (in
\nTrisakti, and found) that none of our men used live ammunition,\"
\nhe said after formally handing over the post of city police chief
\nto Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman from Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata.<\/p>\n
\"I am saying this again: We used rubber bullets. That's the
\nstandard procedure in facing riots and crowds,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dibyo expressed relief over the National Commission on Human
\nRights' findings that the police did not use live ammunition in
\nthe shootings. The commission's report implied that other
\nmilitary units were instead involved in the shootings.<\/p>\n
The National Police conducted its own investigation into the
\nshootings, but had to submit the results to ABRI Headquarters
\nfirst before it could go public with it.<\/p>\n
\"The police is part of the Armed Forces and therefore we have
\nto submit the results to the Armed Forces Headquarters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's not comfortable always being the scapegoat,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Trisakti demonstration was handled by both police and
\nmilitary personnel. The death of the four students sent
\nshockwaves across the country, triggering massive riots in
\nJakarta and other cities resulting in over 500 dead and Rp 2.5
\ntrillion in material losses.<\/p>\n
The rioting caused heightened social and political tension
\nthat finally forced then president Soeharto to resign and
\ntransfer his office to B.J. Habibie on May 21. (imn\/edt)<\/p>",
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