Is justice finally to come to Nipah village?
Is justice finally to come to Nipah village?
By Ainur R. Sophiaan
SURABAYA (JP): Human rights campaigners are yet to be mollified by the military's recent promise to bring to court the soldiers responsible for the death of four Nipah villagers in a 1993 land conflict in Sampang, on Madura Island, East Java.
Munir of the Surabaya office of the Indonesian Legal Aid and lawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, while welcoming the move, pointed out a number of things still lacking.
Munir told The Jakarta Post that this promise and the other legal procedures in connection with the shooting have appeared very late.
He suspected that the authorities have not handled the case as promptly as other human right violations such as in Liquisa, East Timor, and Timika, Irian Jaya, because of excessive military control over the area.
"To begin with, the control of the military authorities was very tight, especially when Brig. Gen. Imam Utomo replaced Brig. Gen. Farid Zainuddin as the local military chief of staff," he said.
"Secondly, there was not enough international pressure," he said. "Thirdly, the National Commission on Human Rights has not done enough. Only chairman Baharuddin Lopa has visited Sampang."
Three women and a woman from the village were killed in Sept. 1993 when troops opened fire on demonstrators who were protesting against a government team sent to measure land being appropriated for a reservoir.
The planned dam, which was supposed to submerge 170 hectares of land belonging to some 240 families of farmers, was expected to irrigate over 1,000 hectares of rice paddies.
Chief of the Brawijaya Regional Military Command, Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo, said earlier this month investigations were being conducted. He said the six soldiers allegedly responsible for the deaths of Mutirah, 51, Muhammad, 38, Simuki, 24, and Nindin, 14, could be prosecuted if there was sufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
Munir, however, does not believe the investigation is proceeding as promised. "I have not received any indication that the villagers are being questioned about the shootings," he said.
The government announced in the wake of the incident that it was canceling the appropriation project. However, villagers still witness the local authorities proceeding with topographic measurements.
Munir charged that manipulations, such as the selling of land plots by "certain people" to other parties without the consent or knowledge of the owners, abound as well.
A fact-finding team established by the legislative council in Sampang regency found that villagers were being bullied into selling. Informed sources told the Post of the rampant use of military and police officials in illegal land appropriation.
The practice contravenes a radiogram from the Minister of Defense and Security and a decree of the Minister of Home Affairs, both issued in 1981, forbidding the involvement of Armed Forces (ABRI) units in land appropriation projects, the source said.
Dozens of villagers last week tried to meet Sampang Regent Col. Fadhilah Budiono in order to protest this practice. They did not succeed.
The tribunal, if one is held, should also cover commanding officers and other officials, rather than only the soldiers, Munir said.
Legal observers have suggested that former Sampang regent Bagus Hinayana be held accountable as well, as it was he who mobilized troopers to accompany the land measurement team.
"Those responsible should be brought to court," Munir said.
Trimoelja said the tribunal should proceed "in a fair, open and objective manner".
"The villagers, especially the victims' relatives, should be able to attend the proceedings," he said. "Otherwise, I'm afraid they will think the whole thing is rigged".
"More important, however, is that the villagers' rights to their land are seen to be protected," according to Trimoelja.
Munir agreed. "The court should concentrate on the means used in land appropriation," he said. "The Nipah villagers are not opposed to the dam. What they're against of is unfair land appropriation."