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