Cash problem slows massacre trial

Cash problem slows massacre trial

JAKARTA: The Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday that
it could not speed up the prosecution of those allegedly involved
in the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre due to a lack of funds.

B.R. Pangaribuan, chief of the office's human rights working
unit, told the House of Representatives Commission II overseeing
legal affairs that the office was waiting for government funds to
proceed with the prosecutions in an ad hoc human rights tribunal.

"We have submitted the fund proposal to the Directorate
General of Budget, but they said we made mistakes in asking for
funds for both the Tanjung Priok and Abepura cases. They told us
to split the budget proposal," he said.

The Abepura case centers on alleged human rights abuses by
security officials against civilians in Papua.

The Tanjung Priok investigation has been completed, with
prosecutors naming 14 suspects. The Attorney General's Office has
appointed 16 ad hoc prosecutors, including four from the
military, to handle the case.

The incident took place on Sept. 12, 1984, when soldiers
opened fire on antigovernment protesters outside a mosque. The
National Commission on Human Rights said 33 were killed and 55
injured in the incident. -- JP