A second soldier charged over Liquisa

JAKARTA (JP): A military tribunal in Denpasar, Bali, charged a soldier on Saturday with unlawfully killing six people in Liquisa, East Timor, on Jan. 12, 1995.

First Class Private Rusdin Maubere is the second soldier to be charged in connection with the Liquisa incident, in which six people died.

The trial of the first soldier, First. Lt. Jermias Kasse, began in the same court on Friday. He is charged with disobeying an order from Liquisa military chief Lt. Col. Tris Suryawan not to shoot unarmed rebels.

Prosecutors said that both Kasse, who led the infamous military operation, and Rusdin had been unable to control their emotions after witnessing the wounding of a fellow soldier in an earlier clash with rebels.

Prosecutor Lt. Col. Firman AR Coto alleged that Rusdin opened fire on and killed six unarmed prisoners even though the 30- member detachment had been ordered to shoot only at armed rebels.

The incident, which sparked outrage both here and overseas, took place while the soldiers were patrolling an area which was, reportedly, a stronghold of separatist Fretilin rebels.

International protests prompted both the Indonesian Armed Forces and the National Commission on Human Rights to carry out investigations into the killings.

Prosecutor Firman said that the defendant intentionally violated the verbal order of the Liquisa military chief, thereby breaching the Military Criminal Code.

He said that Tris had ordered the patrol team not to shoot suspected rebels if they were unarmed, but to arrest them. The opening session of Kasse's trial was attended by regional military chief Maj. Gen. Adang Ruchiatna

The trial resumes today, when the defense is scheduled to answer the prosecution case.

The defendant was represented on Saturday by lawyers Major Ketut Lastra and Captain Wirawati, Antara reported. (rms)