A call of the conscience?

At last, the court martial has begun of 11 members of the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) involved in the kidnaping of pro- democracy activists. People had feared that this case would remain in the dark forever... Fortunately, the public now has a chance to see the faces of those robust, well-trained men who had the heart to torture and kidnap people because, as they said, they were called by their conscience.

From the beginning, people have been highly skeptical about whether the case of the abduction of political activists would ever be totally exposed. People widely believed that the complexities and the background of this politically charged case would forever remain in the dark. The point was, it was never clear whether those who gave the (kidnap) orders to the 11 men who are now on trial would ever be brought to court.

(Former Kopassus commander Lt. Gen.) Prabowo Subianto, who has already openly admitted his responsibility in the case and who was subsequently dismissed, has been able to leave the country freely and has up to this moment not returned. Lately, even, another development has emerged: Prabowo is reported to have received honorary citizenship status from Jordan.

Another question that has remained unanswered up to the present concerns the fate of the 14 kidnap victims who have still not been found. According to information provided by victims who were released (by the kidnapers), some of those others were at one time or another locked up with them in the same cell. However, the charges that were read out by the military prosecutor at the first hearing of the tribunal did not mention the fate of those still missing. It is likely that they will remain missing forever and that the identity of the perpetrators (of the crime) will never be known.

The 11 defendants now on trial in the military tribunal are people who are prepared to be convicted since the charges that have been brought against them are legitimate. However, it can be said for certain that the public's thirst for complete information regarding the abductions will not be satisfied. This trial is being held because the case has somehow come to the public's attention. Had it been otherwise, a mere call to the conscience to respect human rights would not have been strong enough to expose the case.

The law still exhibits some painful inequities. Subordinates who follow orders must bear the blame of those who issued the orders. Senior officers who appropriately should bear the ultimate responsibility can go scot-free merely by saying, "I was not aware of what happened." It appears that our leaders, military as well as civilian, still have to learn about the concept of responsibility. If those 11 lower ranking defendants can say they were following the call of their conscience, where, then, is the conscience of their superiors?

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta