Int'l court for Trisakti case possible but not soon

Int'l court for Trisakti case possible but not soon

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Human rights activists have set an early deadline for the
government to open an ad hoc court to try military and police
officers for alleged gross human rights violations in May 1998.

If the government fails to heed the motion, activists have
threatened to file the cases with the international tribunal in
The Hague, Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
(Kontras) coordinator Ori Rachman said.

Ori said an international tribunal was the last resort if
there was no response to public skepticism of the legal system,
or if the court only serves as impunity to prominent figures and
officials allegedly involved in crimes against humanity.

Although the chance is there for the international tribunal to
take over the cases, a long and winding road will stand between
the human rights activists and the desperately sought trials.

"Individuals or groups of people are entrusted with the
capacity to file human rights cases with an international
tribunal.

"But such an international tribunal can only occur if the
cases draw the attention of the international community. And it
will take time to convince the rest of the world to solicit their
support," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview.

Four students were killed on Trisakti University campus in May
1998 when police troops moved to quell widespread demonstrations
against then president Soeharto. Looting and rioting, which
followed the shooting, left hundreds dead with many Chinese
Indonesians fleeing the country for safety.

Ori said there were three mechanisms the international
community could attempt to pull alleged human rights perpetrators
out of their countries.

The first mechanism is through the annual meeting of the UN
High Commission for Human Rights, where individuals or groups may
ask for a follow-up to a particular case that was considered
unheeded.

Special rapporteurs will be sent to monitor the case and to
give recommendations to the High Commission whether to support
the motion or not.

Lobbying is essential to win support from the UN Security
Council, which has the authority to establish a tribunal.

The next mechanism is the permanent International Criminal
Court, where the international community could take over
investigation into the case.

The last option is direct intervention without prior notice to
the country, should there be reports on gross violations to
people's basic rights, such as genocide or mass killing.

Dozens of protesting students and civilians were shot dead by
the security forces in three different rallies in 1998 and 1999.

Many believe the incidents have become the momentum for the
reform movement, but the current administration is considered to
have neglected public demand for the cases to be unraveled.

The cases, known as the Trisakti, Semanggi I and II cases, had
been brought to a military tribunal, which proved unpopular. The
human rights commission repeated the investigation and the case
is now in the hands of the Attorney General's Office.

The Office's spokesman, Barman Zahir, said the human rights
prosecutors are still studying the case and have yet to start the
investigation, despite the fact they have been examining the case
for more than three weeks.