Govt urged to reopen Tanjung Priok riot case

JAKARTA (JP): Relatives of 412 people who reportedly disappeared after a bloody riot in Tanjung Priok nearly 14 years ago called on the government of President B.J. Habibie yesterday to reopen the case and punish the military officers responsible for the disappearances.

Faisal Biki, the head of the group representing the relatives, said the military operation was headed by the commanders of the Jakarta Military Command and the Armed Forces of the time, Antara reported.

"Everybody knows that a massacre took place," he was quoted as saying.

The government should form a team to investigate who gave soldiers the order to shoot on the night of Sept. 12, 1984, said Faisal, whose brother Amir Biki was killed when he led an antigovernment protest in the North Jakarta port district.

The military claimed that nine people were killed when soldiers opened fire at antigovernment protesters who had been agitated by Moslem preachers. The death toll was later revised to 18.

Faisal said the number of victims reached hundreds.

"We have authentic data from relatives of 412 missing people," he said.

The government should disclose where their bodies are buried because these people deserve a better burial place, he said.

The Armed Forces should offer an apology and the government should give financial compensation to the relatives, he said.

Faisal's group, called the Front for Justice in the 1984 Bloody Incident in Tanjung Priok, hailed the military for acting swiftly to uncover the shooting of Trisakti University students this month. "But how could they neglect the Tanjung Priok case for 14 years?" he asked.

"For whatever reason, the killing of human beings is not acceptable and it amounts to a violation of the law and people's human rights. Someone should be held responsible," Faisal said. (emb)