Find evidence in Priok case: Judges
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The court trying a shooting incident that occurred 20 years ago ordered the prosecutor's office to continue looking for several items of military equipment that witnesses had said was missing.
At least 33 civilians were killed in September 1984 when troops opened fire into a crowd of protesters in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. The incident has been among a number of unresolved human rights violations that the public has demanded be reopened.
On trial at the ad hoc human rights court are Col. Sutrisno Mascung, now commander of the elite special forces, and 10 of his men. They were members of the third platoon of the air defense artillery battalion deployed on the night of Sept. 12, 1984, to reinforce the North Jakarta Military District against a crowd of Muslim demonstrators.
From Monday's testimonies of witnesses Maj. Gen. (ret) Rudolph Butar-Butar and Lt. Col. Bambang Suartono, the whereabouts of the equipment is still unclear. The equipment comprises 13 Russian- made SKS rifles, some bullets and a military truck.
"We want to ensure that there has been no deliberate destruction or elimination whatsoever of the equipment," said presiding judge Andi Samsan Nganro.
Butar-Butar was commander of the North Jakarta Military District at the time of the incident. He said if the equipment had indeed been withdrawn for replacement, it would probably be stored at the military's central equipment depot.
Lt.Col. Bambang, commander of the air defense artillery battalion from June 2000 to December 2001, said he had carried out a search for the equipment, but in vain. He said this was in response to a letter from the Attorney General's Office of Sept. 13, 2001, requesting the equipment as evidence in the case.
He said the equipment had apparently been withdrawn for replacement since 1991, according to a decree signed by the battalion's commander at the time, Lt. Col. Taat Tri Januar.
Without the equipment as evidence, and relying solely on documents and testimonies, the prosecutors' office will likely face difficulty in pursuing its charges against the defendants.
The court also requested the prosecutor's office to prepare a summons for former vice president Try Sutrisno, who was Jakarta military commander in 1984. He will be asked to testify to explain the issue of compensation to victims as part of an agreement on islah (Islamic reconciliation agreement).
The summons, however, will not occur until Mar. 1, the schedule of the next hearing, as several judges will be off duty on their haj pilgrimage.