Inquiry? What inquiry?

The independent inquiry into the September violence in East Timor has fallen into a disturbingly familiar pattern encountered by investigators of past power abuses in this country. The inquiry has been disparaged, diverted, and ultimately slowed down, to the current dim prospect of ever uncovering the truth of the matter in court. As the investigation gathers momentum, those with the most to lose, or to hide, have deployed delaying and diversionary tactics.

The team established to carry out the investigation, the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Abuses in East Timor (KPP HAM), has been making significant progress in the inquiry into the campaign of terror and destruction carried out by pro- Indonesia militias in East Timor after the Aug. 31 ballot.

The team's discovery on the East Timor-Indonesian border of 26 bodies killed in the brutal September campaign attested to the team's credibility and independence. The team has also found evidence of complicity on the part of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the terror campaign. It stands to reason that it now wants to question TNI generals who were responsible for overseeing security in East Timor at the time.

Instead of cooperating with the investigation, the six Army and police generals wanted for questioning by KPP HAM have launched a scathing counterattack on the inquiry team and the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), which oversees KPP HAM's activities.

Lawyers representing the generals demanded on Wednesday the team members be replaced, saying their public accusations amounted to a violation of the generals' human rights. The lawyers, who left on Thursday for East Timor to conduct their own investigations into the mayhem, have threatened to withhold their cooperation unless Komnas HAM takes disciplinary action against inquiry team members responsible for the accusations. They demanded the inquiry team be gagged, insisting that its findings should be first proven in court before being made public.

The generals' supporters have also spoken out against KPP HAM, accusing its members of succumbing to international pressure, harming the national interest and attempting to discredit the military. They have also demanded that the investigation look into the alleged killing of pro-Indonesia East Timorese by international peacekeeping forces who took over security in East Timor from TNI in September.

This latest twist to the saga has ensured that the investigation into the September events in East Timor will be delayed, if not completely sidetracked. Certainly, the investigation will not be completed by the end of this month as originally scheduled.

Considering that all previous major investigations involving power abuses in this country met the same fate, these outcomes do not come as any surprise. One would have difficulty naming one single major case that has been resolved in court. The corruption probe against former president Soeharto and the investigations into the Bank Bali and Texmaco scandals have been sidetracked; the whistle-blowers or the victims themselves instead often becoming the target of investigations. The trial against TNI officers for their alleged involvement in atrocities in Aceh has been delayed by a dispute about whether they should be tried in a military or a civilian court.

These investigations, including the inquiry into the violence in East Timor, are looking more and more like a drawn out TV melodrama, in which lawyers are among the key players. In all these instances, lawyers have overstretched the principle of the rule of law to the point of preventing justice from taking its course. They have skillfully, if not cunningly, turned these investigations into drawn out legal polemics, often distracting public attention away from the substance of the matter. They have also mastered the art of making the perpetrators of human rights abuses look like the real victims.

As the nation painfully begins the process of building democracy, in arguing the supremacy of the law, lawyers have gone for the overkill. Justice, like the rule of law, is also a pillar of democracy. That means that in a democracy, justice must be carried out, and must be seen to be carried out. Thanks to the behavior of many lawyers, this situation does not occur in Indonesia.

Given the international dimensions of the inquiry into the violence in East Timor however, one wonders whether the nation can afford to continue pussyfooting around on the issue, without risking another international outcry.

It is worth remembering that KPP HAM was established after the government rejected international calls for a United Nations inquiry. The move was taken to avoid the national humiliation of the possibility of TNI generals being tried in international courts for crimes against humanity. The UN went ahead with its own inquiry. Hence, KPP HAM is working under intense domestic and international pressure to prove its integrity and independence.

By attacking the integrity of the team, the TNI generals are undermining the credibility of the investigation itself. However, if the team cannot complete its job in a satisfactory and swift manner, then the Indonesian government will be forced to hand over the TNI generals to the war crimes tribunal. If this happens, it will be interesting to see how these same lawyers maneuver to extricate the generals from the predicament.