Government unveils names of rights tribunal judges
Government unveils names of rights tribunal judges
Tiarma Siboro and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Military and police personnel accused of human rights violations
in the 1984 Tanjung Priok incident and the 1999 violence in East
Timor will soon stand trial following the issuance of
Presidential Decree No. 6/2002 appointing 18 judges for the long-
awaited ad hoc human rights tribunal.
But whether or not the trial will do justice for the hundreds,
or perhaps thousands, of victims remains to be seen, according
some legal experts here.
"The ad hoc tribunal will try human rights violations
committed during 1999 surrounding the United Nations-administered
ballot in East Timor and the Tanjung Priok bloodshed in 1984,"
Justice Benyamin Mangkoedilaga, chairman of the team preparing
the recruitment of the judges, told reporters at his office on
Monday.
All 18 judges appointed by the President were recommended by
the Supreme Court, said Benyamin, adding that 12 of them will
serve as first degree judges and six others would serve as
appeals judges. They will receive a salary of Rp 1 million per
month (about US$100) in addition to a fee of Rp 4 million for
every case they handle.
The 18 ad hoc judges will work together with 12 career judges
appointed by Chief Justice Bagir Manan in December 2001.
According to the Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
Mahendra, the judges will start working immediately, but no
specific date was given for the beginning of the trials.
Following the announcement, Army Chief of Staff Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto said that TNI leadership would leave the
trial against some its generals to the country's justice system.
He, however, warned that the public must not "politicize" the
cases.
"As long as it (the trial) is held for the sake of the legal
matters, just go ahead. We (the TNI) do not mind," Endriartono
told reporters at the Army Headquarters in Jakarta.
Three army generals, a police general and a number of middle-
ranking officers are among the 19 suspects who are facing trial
for alleged gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999
before and after its August 30 vote for independence.
They include former Udayana Military commander Maj.Gen. Adam
Damiri, former Wiradharma Military Resort commanders in Dili
Brig. Gen. Suhartono Suratman and Brig. Gen. M. Noer Muis, and
former East Timor police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen. Former
Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto was initially one of these
suspects, but the Attorney General's Office took his name off the
list.
The 19 suspects will be charged under 12 sets of dossiers,
each of which include separate violations within a certain
category.
The Attorney General's Office has also named three senior army
officers as suspects in the Tanjung Priok case, they are former
Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) L.B. Moerdani, former Jakarta
Military commander Gen. (ret) Try Sutrisno and former North
Jakarta Military District commander R. Butar-butar.
Rights activists, however, still doubt the credibility and
capability of judges for the ad hoc tribunal.
Caretaker of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation
(YLBHI), Irianto Subiyakto, said it would be hard to put faith in
the judges because their recruitment itself was not transparent.
"But, considering that the ad hoc judges have solid academic
qualifications, we expect them to produce credible rulings," he
told The Jakarta Post at his office.
Irianto expressed fears that the rights cases could be twisted
into petty criminal cases during the trial due to a lack of
experience by prosecutors and judges.
Irianto, who also was involved in the team investigating the
case against rights perpetrators in the 1999 East Timor abuses,
revealed that the prosecutors still believed that the case should
start by taking those in charge at the highest levels before
moving on to find those who gave the orders on the ground.
"Such an approach is contradictory to the rights tribunal
approach which starts by trying the holders of the higher
responsibility in the case," he added.
Legal expert Achmad Ali of the Hasanuddin University in
Makassar, South Sulawesi also doubted whether, "The judges have
the courage to try those powerful persons who can control many
things, including law."
"All we need is their strong commitment to proceed with the
case solemnly. They must also have courage as they are facing
some powerful people in these cases," Achmad, who earlier
declined to be considered as one of the ad hoc judges, told the
Post by telephone.
Asked whether he was pessimistic about the cases getting tried
fairly, Achmad said: "Give them (the judges) two or three months
to prove their commitment and afterwards, let just see."
First Degree Justice Non-Career Ad Hoc Judges:
(Name - Previous Position):
1. Seyfulina Faruddin - Retired judge of Jakarta State
Administrative Court (PT TUN);
2. Soedjono Dirdjosisworo - Parahyangan Catholic University,
Bandung;
3. H. Amir Summa - Syari'ah Faculty of Syarif Hidayatullah
State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), Jakarta;
4. H. Ahmad Sutarmadi - Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute
for Islamic Studies (IAIN), Jakarta;
5. Sanwani Nasution - Faculty of Law, University of North
Sumatra (USU), Medan;
6. S.P.B. Roeroe - Christian University of Indonesia, Tomohon;
7. Komariah Emong Sapardjaja - Faculty of Law;
8. Abdul Rahman - Faculty of Law, University of North Sumatra
(USU), Medan;
9. H.M. Kabul Supriyadhie - Faculty of Law, Diponegoro
University;
10. Muh. Guntur Alfie - Faculty of Law, Hassanudin University;
11. Winarno Yudho - Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia;
12. Heru Susanto - Faculty of Law, University of Surabaya;
13. Rudi M. Rizki - Pajajaran University, Bandung;
14. Hendra Nurtjahyo - University of Indonesia;
15. Kelelong Bukit - University of North Sumatra (USU);
16. Sulaiman Hamid - Faculty of Law, University of North Sumatra
(USU);
17. H. Rachmat Syafe'i - Sunan Gunung Djati State Institute for
Islamic Studies (IAIN), Bandung;
18. Amiruddin Aburarea - Trisakti University
Appeal Justice Career Judges:
(Name - Previous Position):
1. Marni Emmy - Central Jakarta District Court;
2. Andi Samsanganro - Central Jakarta District Court;
3. Cicut Sutiarso - Sidoarjo District Court;
4. Adriani Nurdin - Cibinong District Court;
5. Ridwan Mansyur - Cibinong District Court;
6. Rocky Pandjaitan - Cibinong District Court;
7. Herman Heller Hutapea - Tanjung Karang District Court;
8. Binsar Gultom - Bogor District Court;
9. Sunaryo - Klaten District Court;
10. Eddy Wibisono - Tanjung Karang District Court;
11. Djalaludin - Sukabumi District Court;
12. Amril - Supreme Court Justice.