Try appears again in rights tribunal

JAKARTA: Former vice president Gen. (ret.) Try Sutrisno defended on Monday a decision by the military to open fire on a crowd during the Tanjung Priok incident in 1984.

"Circumstances left them with no choice but to open fire as they dealt with protesters who could endanger important state facilities," Try said in his testimony in the trial of Capt. Sutrisno Maschung, a military officer charged with crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the incident.

Try said that had the protesters demonstrated peacefully, the incident would not have occurred.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has put the death toll at 33, but military authorities said only nine people were killed. Families of the victims, however, claim that almost 400 Muslim protesters were killed during the incident.

A number of high-ranking military personnel were tried for gross violation of human rights; however, Try and former Armed Forces commander Gen. L.B. Murdani were not on the list of suspects. Try was Jakarta Military commander at the time of the incident.

The trial was adjourned to March 8 to hear other testimonies. --JP