Millitary's top brass to observe ad hoc trial<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
To offer moral support for soldiers on trial for crimes
\nagainst humanity in East Timor, the Indonesian Military (TNI) top
\nbrass will appear at the Central Jakarta District Court to
\nobserve Tuesday's hearings in the landmark tribunal.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Timor P. Manurung, the TNI's chief lawyer, said that
\nTNI chief Adm. Widodo A.S. and Army Chief of Staff Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto would head a group of senior military
\nofficers attending the opening of the trial.<\/p>\n
Tried will be five defendants, four of them middle-ranking
\nmilitary officers, accused in the destruction of the St. Ave
\nMaria church in September 1999 in Suai, where at least 26 people
\ndied.<\/p>\n
The officers, former Covalima regent Col. Herman Sedyono;
\nformer Suai military commander Lt. Col. Liliek Koeshadianto; his
\nsuccessor, Lt. Col. Sugito; former Suai military command chief of
\nstaff Capt. Achmad Syamsudin, and former Suai police precinct
\nchief Lt. Col. Gatot Subiaktoro, face sentences from 10 years'
\nimprisonment to the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Other high-ranking military officers to show up at the court
\nare Vice Admiral Bernard Sondakh, the TNI inspectorate general,
\nand Vice Marshal Cheppy Hakim, the commander of the TNI Academy.<\/p>\n
\"The presence of our TNI chief, as well as the Army chief at
\nthe ad hoc tribunal Tuesday is merely to support our soldiers, as
\nthey have fallen victim to people trying to corner our men,\"
\nTimor said. \"They will be there not to meddle with the trial, nor
\ninfluence the judges.\"<\/p>\n
It is expected that security will be tight due to the presence
\nof the TNI top brass.<\/p>\n
Tuesday's hearing will be the second after the opening session
\nlast Thursday.<\/p>\n
In all, 18 military and police officers and civilians are
\nfacing charges of human rights violations that took place after
\nthe majority of the people in the former Indonesian province,
\nonce a Portuguese colony, opted for independence in a UN-
\nadministered referendum in September 1999.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former Udayana Military Command
\noverseeing Bali, Nusa Tenggara and East Timor, is the highest-
\nranking military officer to stand trial, with former East Timor
\ngovernor Abilio Soares topping the list of civilian defendants.<\/p>\n
Timor added that the TNI had released lawyer Adnan Buyung
\nNasution, who decided on Monday to quit his position as
\ncoordinator for the TNI's advocacy team for human rights
\nviolations cases in East Timor, following mounting demands from
\nhuman rights activists.<\/p>\n
Nasution, according to Timor, opted to stay as one of the
\npatrons of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute
\n(YLBHI).<\/p>\n
Nasution will be replaced by three senior lawyers, Bob
\nNainggolan, Muhammad Assegaf, and Hotma Sitompul.<\/p>\n
The resignation will be announced at a press conference, also
\nscheduled for Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Timor said, however, that Nasution will leave the door wide
\nopen for the TNI to discuss the development of the trial.<\/p>\n
The decision followed a closed-door meeting between the
\nadvocacy team, including Nasution, some of the defendants, and
\nMinister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil at Matori's office.<\/p>\n
Also discussed at the meeting was the question of whether the
\ndecision to hold a self-determination ballot in East Timor came
\nfrom both the TNI and the Ministry of Defense.<\/p>",
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