Retired general stands first trial for Tanjung Priok massacre<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A retired general appeared before a court on Tuesday charged with
\ncrimes against humanity in the bloody Tanjung Priok massacre in
\n1984 when soldiers gunned down at least 14 Muslim protesters.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Rudolph Butar-Butar, who appeared at the
\nJakarta ad hoc rights tribunal, was a lieutenant colonel and
\nheaded the North Jakarta district military command when the
\nshooting incident took place on Sept. 12, 1984.<\/p>\n
According to the prosecutor's charges, at least 14 people were
\nkilled and 11 others injured in the incident, one of the most
\npublicized individual acts of civilian suppression during the 32-
\nyear iron-fisted rule of former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors accused Butar-Butar of having failed to
\nprevent or halt the systematic killing of civilians when in fact
\nhe had full authority to prevent the crime from happening.<\/p>\n
"He failed to control the military personnel under his command
\nin the shooting incident or hand them over for legal action
\nafterwards," prosecutor Parada Nababan said in his indictment.<\/p>\n
Butar-Butar is the 13th man to stand trial in the case. A
\ntotal of 14 retired and active military personnel have been
\nindicted in the massacre.<\/p>\n
Under Law No. 26\/2000 on human rights, they face a minimum of
\n10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of death if convicted.<\/p>\n
During the incident the defendant was in charge of the 40-
\nstrong Platoon III of the Air Defense Artillery Battalion based
\nin North Jakarta. The platoon was deployed on orders from the
\ndistrict military command to guard the military compound and
\nimportant public facilities in the vicinity against possible
\nattack from angry protesters.<\/p>\n
The protesters were demanding the release of four people who
\nwere being held in the military command compound. They barely
\nreached the compound when troops opened fire.<\/p>\n
The number of people killed in the incident varies. The
\nNational Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) put the death
\ntoll at 33, but military authorities said only nine people were
\nkilled. Families of the victims, however, claim that almost 400
\nMuslim protesters were killed during the incident.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the trial, the defendant rejected the
\naccusations, saying he did not violate any military procedure.<\/p>\n
"I was just doing my duty to protect military and public
\nfacilities from possible attack from the angry crowd. I object to
\nthe substance of the indictment that says that I have committed
\nhuman rights violations," he told reporters after the trial.<\/p>\n
Defense lawyer Yan Djuanda Saputera said: "What the soldiers
\nwere doing in the incident was part of a self-defense mechanism
\nand it did not constitute a gross violation of human rights."<\/p>\n
He said the soldiers were caught in a difficult situation.<\/p>\n
"There were only 13 personnel against more than 2,000 angry
\nprotesters. It was simply beyond their control," he said.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until Oct. 8, when the panel of
\njudges hears the defense statements.<\/p>",
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