Jail term await 'Trisakti shooters'

JAKARTA (JP): West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Timur Pradopo and 17 other police and military members face prison terms of between seven and 12 years if convicted of their alleged roles in last month's Trisakti shooting, an officer said yesterday.

National Military Police Corps Commander Maj. Gen. Syamsu Djalal said yesterday that the West Jakarta Military District commander, Lt. Col. Amril Amir, whose name had been among the 19 alleged suspects, was eventually excluded from the list and released on technical grounds.

"We have to release him because we did not have enough evidence to put him on trial," Syamsu told a media conference at his office in Gambir subdistrict, Central Jakarta.

"However, if fresh evidence is found, there is a chance that he will also face the same charges," he added.

Syamsu refused to give the precise names and units of the other 17 suspects.

He only identified them as first lieutenants AH, WR, SR and ATH; second lieutenants PY, EKS and BY; second sergeants DP, JE, TI, AY, CN and PD; and second privates ST, SP, LS and IM.

He said that all of the 18 suspects would be brought before a military court on Saturday and charged under Article 170 of the Criminal Code for assaulting people with violence.

Four Trisakti University students were shot dead in the May 12 incident. Dozens of others were injured by bullets and batons. The incident ignited public anger which became manifest in massive riots, looting and burnings the next day. Nine days later, president Soeharto resigned after 32 years in power.

Jakarta Military Police Commander Col. Hendardji, who also attended yesterday's meeting, said that among the suspects, 10 admitted that they had fired their guns without authorization.

"There was an order to shoot, but only warning shots, ricochet shots," he said.

"They opened fire on their own initiative, but not upon a direct order from the field commander. The motive was merely to herd the students back to the campus," he added.

He also said that one of the student fatalities, shot in his neck, was the victim of ricochet shots.

He, however, said that the investigators were now seeking testimony for why the firing began after the students had ended their protest.

Hendardji also hinted at the possibility of procedural violations while loading the troops' ammunition.

"That's the reason why we also checked the line of distribution of ammunition," he said, adding that the troops (dispatched at the scene) were trained with live ammunitions at their base in Kelapa Dua in Depok.

Hendardji was asked about when the officers took possession of their live ammunition because reports showed that they had been deployed at the campus for a whole week. He said: "There were times when they returned back to their base at Kelapa Dua."

Asked about the National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo's statement that the police officers did not commit procedural violations during the incident, Hendardji suggested Dibyo crosscheck his findings with other findings.

Syamsu said that the investigation had been conducted in line with the legal procedure stated in Article 74 of the Armed Forces Chief Decree No. 31/ 1997 on military procedures when handling unrest.

He said that the team did not try to find scapegoats who would be held responsible for the incident.

"Only the court will decide on the responsible parties. We (military investigators) always apply the principle of presumption of innocence," he said.

Syamsu denied reports of a two-star general's involvement in the shooting, as mentioned by several mass media.

"I've never said that a two-star general was involved," he said.

He, however, called for the public's active participation to help the investigators reveal the truth of the case.

"Anybody who witnessed officers from other units opening fire, please inform us," he said. (edt/ivy/imn)