'I was ordered to bury 25 victims of attack on East Timor church'
'I was ordered to bury 25 victims of attack on East Timor church'
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A witness testified before the ongoing Human Rights Court on
Tuesday that he was ordered by his superior to bury at least 25
bodies, including three Catholic priests, after a massacre at St.
Ave Maria Church in Suai town, Covalima regency, East Timor on
Sept. 6, 1999.
Second Sgt. Sony Iskandar explained that some military and
police officers, along with about 10 East Timorese, buried the
bodies in three mass graves which were excavated at a nearby
beach.
"I just followed my superior's order by digging the holes...,
there were three holes... one for the male corpses, another one
for women and the remaining hole for the three priests," said
Sony, the driver for the former Suai military command's chief of
staff Capt. Achmad Syamsuddin -- one of the five defendants
accused of committing gross human rights violations.
Sony said the bodies were transported from the church by
military truck for burial in a "new cemetery near the beach". He
also said that he noticed that almost all of the bodies had been
wounded by sharp weapons.
Tuesday's hearing was part of the ongoing trial of four mid-
level military officers and one policeman accused of rights
violations in the massacre at the church, where at least 27
people were killed in the attack, including Catholic priests
Tarsisius Dewanto, Hilario Madeira and Francisco Soares.
Achmad Syamsuddin, along with four other defendants, former
Covalima regent Col. Herman Sedyono, former Suai military
commander Lt. Col. Liliek Koeshadianto, his successor Lt. Col.
Sugito and former Suai Police precinct chief Lt. Col. Gatot
Subiaktoro are charged with violating Articles 7, 9, 37 and 42 of
Law No. 26/2000 on human rights violations.
The crimes carry sentences ranging from 10 years to the death
penalty.
Sony is also a suspect for a similar case, as he, along with
several soldiers and the Suai-based pro-Jakarta militia group
Laksaur, stand accused of carrying out the attack.
Asked if he had any knowledge of why he was ordered to bury
the corpses, Sony replied, "For humanitarian reasons, I guess".
Another witness, First Sgt. I Wayan Suka Antara -- also a
suspect for the other case -- told the court that the situation
turned ugly, following the announcement by the United Nations
Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) declaring victory for the pro-
independence voters on Sept. 4, 1999.
Antara said that hundreds of people from the pro-Jakarta group
immediately attacked the church as they knew that "it had been
used as a safe haven for the pro-independence group and some
UNAMET staffers."
"There wasn't any security officer guarding the church during
the attack. How could we guard it, anyway, if these people...I
mean, the pro-independence group, banned us from getting closer?"
Antara told the court.
During the trial, both Sony and Antara asked the panel of
judges to nullify their dossiers because they were coerced under
physical pressure by military police investigators to admit to
all the charges during the interrogation process.
They also said that the investigators threatened to discharge
them from the military if they refused to sign the dossiers.
Judge Cicut dismissed their request, and adjourned the trial
until April, 30 to hear other witnesses, including at least one
who is currently residing in East Timor.