Ambiguous orders caused Irian killing

Ambiguous orders caused Irian killing

JAKARTA (JP): A platoon commander gave an ambiguous order to
shoot during an operation against separatist rebels in the Irian
Jaya jungle, resulting in the deaths of three civilians last
year, a military prosecutor said in Jayapura yesterday.

On trial is a second lieutenant, identified by Antara by his
initials MR, who headed a platoon of the 732d Company during a
patrol in Agani village in the Paniai regency.

The defendant, according to prosecutor Lt. Col. Balukia, led
the platoon on a patrol to Kampung Putih village, following
reports that some people who had been hiding in the jungle had
come out and were returning to their villages.

During the operation, he told his unit to shoot anyone who
tried to get away.

The order however was not clear as to whether the soldiers
should shoot in the air as a warning, or shoot the villagers
down. He was not clear either whether the troopers should
distinguish between ordinary villagers and those who were known
to support the rebels.

The lack of clarity was a violation in procedure and resulted
in the shooting of three civilians during the operation, the
prosecutor said. He added that the defendant tried to cover his
tracks by filing a false report on the incident.

The defendant is one of four soldiers being tried in the
Jayapura military court in connection with the incident. The
three others were his subordinates who were accused of shooting
the civilians. They are being tried separately.

The report did not say precisely when the incident took place.

The prosecutor said the defendant received an order from his
superior on April 15 to take his platoon on the patrol mission.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation criticized the
military court in Jayapura for declaring that all the papers
presented as evidence in the trials are "state documents", making
them inaccessible to public scrutiny.

The foundation said that such trials should be fully open to
the public, including access to the documents.

The incident was one of several to take place last year in
Irian Jaya after the military admitted to have committed errors.
The National Commission on Human Rights said 16 Irian villagers
were killed this way. Only four soldiers have been tried so far.
(emb)