Legal expert fears consequences of Liquisa probe
Legal expert fears consequences of Liquisa probe
JAKARTA (JP): Legal expert Muladi has urged the Army not to be too harsh on its members who were responsible for the recent death of six people in East Timor, saying it could affect the morale of other troops posted in the troubled territory.
Muladi, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights who took part in a fact-finding mission to investigate the killing of six people in the Liquisa regency on Jan.12, said in Semarang on Tuesday that if the army punished its officers and members too harshly, others would hesitate to accept assignments in East Timor in the future.
"Soldiers will be reluctant to act because they will fear punishment," he said. "How are they supposed to deal with a demonstration? Should they do nothing while they're being pelted with stones?"
He said the idea of the Army's establishing an Officers' Honorary Council to look into the Liquisa killings could affect the morale of soldiers in East Timor. "I'm even afraid that soldiers might try to avoid assignments in East Timor for fear of falling victim to a similar investigation."
The last time the Army established such a council was in the wake of a bloody incident in Dili, the capital of East Timor, in 1991. A government-sponsored investigation found that around 50 people were killed in the clash between soldiers and East Timor protesters.
The council found that troops had strayed from correct procedures in opening fire on the protesters, said to have been rioting. Nineteen soldiers, including two generals, were disciplined in connection with the killings. Some were court- martialled and later expelled from the military.
Armed Forces (ABRI) chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Syarwan Hamid has also warned that negative publicity about the military's presence in East Timor and allegations of human rights violations could affect the morale of soldiers there.
This in turn could affect the overall stability of the region and the nation, Syarwan was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying yesterday.
"If soldiers are continually prevented from taking action because of human rights considerations, who is going to secure peace and stability in the area?" he asked.
ABRI's presence in East Timor is designed to ensure stability and to protect the people from various disturbances, he said.
Muladi, the rector of Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, took part in the mission to investigate the deaths of the six East Timorese in Gariana, a village in Liquisa.
ABRI has also sent a team to investigate the incident. The findings will be submitted to the Officers' Honorary Council, which will then decide on the proper course of action, including the of punishment officers, if there are indications that procedures were violated.
The deaths of the six East Timorese sparked a public outcry. There were allegations that those killed were unarmed civilians and not members or supporters of the separatist rebel movement, Fretilin, as the local military has insisted.
Muladi declined to disclose the findings of the investigation which, he said, will be announced at the headquarters of the National Commission on Human Rights in Jakarta.
But he confirmed that there are indications that four of the six killed were supporters of Fretilin and had been aiding the guerrillas. The investigation looked into the circumstances of their deaths, he added.
Muladi said his team had the full cooperation of the authorities in East Timor, the Roman Catholic Church and the local people in Gariana and Liquisa. "We talked with Gariana youths. The majority of them support the integration (of East Timor into Indonesia). Only a few of them oppose it."
He said he fully appreciated how tough the military's job in East Timor is and the perils faced in dealing with the rebels. "According to information we received, they (the rebels) are well-armed."
The local military has said that Fretilin had been active in the Liquisa regency, mobilizing support and recruiting supporters in the area to its campaign. (har/emb)