Activists hail July 27 case reopening

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Right activists welcomed the reopening of the investigation into the July 27, 1996 melee at the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in Central Jakarta, but they questioned the motives behind the move.

Human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said on Tuesday that he agreed that the case should be resolved as soon as possible as it had been demanded by the public for years, but expressed concern that it was now being used as a political tool to discredit other presidential candidates.

"The case should have been resolved years ago. But I also understand that many people are suspicious about motives as the reemergence of the case is announced during the (presidential) campaign period," Lubis said. The election is on July 5.

The investigation team comprises the police, the Attorney General's office and the military. They will reopen the investigation into the violence that claimed five lives, injured 149 and left 23 others missing, according to official figures. On Monday they promised to hand over the case files to the prosecutor's office by next week.

At least one presidential candidate could be implicated in the case -- the Democratic Party's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- who was the chief of staff of the Jakarta Military in 1996 when the incident occurred. He was questioned by the investigating team as witness over the case in 2000 but was not implicated.

Susilo, who leads the current President in public opinion surveys by over 30 points, however, was not on the suspect list released by the military police in 2002.

Another rights activist Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) said the case should have been processed with or without political influence.

"We can smell political motives here because the case should have been resolved a long time ago, that is, if the current government had the political will to do so. It shouldn't be done in the middle of a presidential election," said Hendardi.

He remarked that the case had been used as a bargaining tool by President Megawati Soekarnoputri vis-a-vis the military.

She did not process the case when she needed support from the security forces (earlier in her term), but on Monday she reopened the case in the midst of a battle for votes against military candidates, he said.

Meanwhile, National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that there was no specific order from the President over the case.

"It is merely coincidence that we found new evidence at this time to complete the six dossiers that were earlier rejected by the prosecutor's office. But it is a normal part of our legal process to try to resolve an old case," Da'i said.

The National Police deputy chief of detective Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida refused to give details on the interrogation schedule of the suspects and witnesses but said that they could question Susilo if necessary.

"We have questioned (Susilo) as a witness before. We will summon him to the headquarters if we need more information from him," said Dadang.