A mystery unraveled

An act of terror that seemed destined to become a permanent mystery is at last beginning to unravel. It appears that a number of individuals belonging to the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) were responsible for the abduction of political activists. This much has been admitted by the Armed Forces (ABRI) through its Spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif, when he relayed reports submitted by an ABRI fact-finding team.

From accounts given by kidnapped activists who have since been released, we know that the abductors targeted people who held radical political views. In other words the abductors had a distinct political agenda. In ABRI, as in any military force, subordinates act only on the orders of superior officers. It can therefore be concluded, without much difficulty, that this political mission belonged to an officer of senior standing.

If the suspected kidnappers are brought to trial then the military court must seek to uncover the political agenda which they were serving, and to whom it belonged. The point to remember here is that any person capable of going to such great lengths to score political points must be desperate for power and high office. The inquiry should therefore seek to determine whether the Kopassus officers who have been detained were the masters of the game or merely the pawns of even bigger players.

We are grateful to Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto for demonstrating such a high degree of honesty and commitment to justice. A case, which in the past would have assuredly remained unresolved, has been laid bare by Wiranto for all to examine.

This display of integrity deserves appreciation, even though the truth which will come out may hurt, and is like a refreshing drop of water in what many of us perceive to be a desert of injustice.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta