House asked to play role in probe into May 1998 riots

House asked to play role in probe into May 1998 riots

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the sluggish investigation into the alleged gross human
rights abuses during the May 1998 riots, a rights campaigner
urged lawmakers to exercise their supervisory function to ensure
that the authorities deal with the case speedily and thoroughly.

Asmara Nababan, former secretary-general of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said that the House of
Representatives should invite the Attorney General's Office and
Komnas HAM "to sit together and discuss the barriers faced by
them in handling the case".

"To date, however, we don't know yet whether the new
composition of political parties at the House will use its
political will to fight for the people," he told The Jakarta Post
on Thursday.

He was referring to the presence of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's new Democratic Party, as well as the reduced number
of legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P) and the greater number of seats held by the Justice and
Prosperous Party (PKS) in the House.

"(But) I am worried that the current legislators will only
take another foolish step like the one taken by their
predecessors with regards the Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi
II (shooting) incidents," Asmara said.

The House special team issued a verdict in 2001, which
declared gross human rights violations did not take place in the
1998 Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II shootings.

The May 13 to May 15 riots were triggered by the shooting
incidents, which killed four students of Trisakti University when
they staged rally calling for then president Soeharto to step
down.

Based on Komnas HAM's report, anarchy broke out in Jakarta
during the riots in which more than 1,000 people were killed, and
more than 60 women, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, were gang raped
or were victims of other sexual violence in three days of
bloodshed, arson and turmoil.

However, none of the military and police officers have been
held accountable or sent to prison for the tragedy.

Meanwhile, House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs
and human rights, said on Thursday it was reviewing the 2001
verdict and promised to bring a new conclusion to the House
plenary session to determine whether they would revoke the
verdict.

Speaking before dozens of university students, mostly from
Trisakti University, commission deputy Akil Mochtar from the
Golkar Party said there were various perspectives and views put
forward by the Commission members on whether or not the tragedies
involved gross violations.

Akil promised to have a conclusion drawn before the current
sitting ends on July 8. He said if the House concluded that the
team's verdict should be revoked, the responsibility would then
be with the Attorney General's Office to investigate further.

"If the Attorney General's Office says the case files and
everything else are complete, it may then propose to establish an
ad hoc tribunal to try these cases, which the House will have no
reason to refuse," he said.

The university students had came to meet with the legislators
with three requests -- to revoke the House special team's 2001
verdict, to establish an ad hoc tribunal, and to have a judicial
review of Article 43 (2) Law No. 26/2000 on ad hoc human rights
tribunal, which they view politicizes human rights abuse cases.

According to Article 43 of Law No. 26/2000 on human rights,
the House has the right to propose the establishment of an ad hoc
human rights tribunal which must be endorsed by the
government.