Lest we forget

Almost four years have passed since the tragic deaths of four Trisakti University students which set off the string of events that led to the downfall of the authoritarian Soeharto regime and ushered in democratic reforms in Indonesia.

In the wake of that shooting incident during a standoff between troops and student protesters in front of the university's campus in Jakarta, more than a thousand people were reportedly killed in the maelstrom of rioting that swept the capital city.

In the months that followed, at least 11 more people were felled by government sharpshooters in the riots before the reform movement reached its present, and unfinished, stage.

In November of that same year, five student protesters were cut down by unknown snipers near the Semanggi cloverleaf in Central Jakarta. In December of the following year, a similar incident claimed the lives of six more students.

Official promises were made, along with efforts to bring the guilty to justice, irrespective of rank or position.

So far, however, only one thing has been established for certain: The protesters were victims of gunmen whose identities remain unknown. A few junior officers were tried by a military tribunal and given light sentences.

The real perpetrators and those who should be held responsible for the crimes, however, have remained free.

The question of who they are could well remain unanswered forever -- unless, of course, the top brass in the military and the police cooperate and support the current investigations.

This is why a special Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) was formed, raising hopes in the community that justice might still be done, especially after President Megawati Soekarnoputri told leaders of the military last week to obey the law in order to restore the military's tarnished image.

Vice President Hamzah Haz also urged the military to comply.

After all, conventional reasoning dictates that the commander in charge should be held responsible, at least to some degree, for what happened, irrespective of who actually pulled the trigger.

However, none of the officers in a position of authority at the time of the fatal shootings have been willing to take blame, shifting it instead on junior officers and rank-and-file troops.

As recently as last week, top lawyers for nine military officers who were summoned to appear before the commission have been steadfast in rejecting the summons on technical grounds.

At present, an argument between the military and the human rights lawyers still revolves over whether or not the commission of inquiry's existence is legal.

One the one hand, the military argues that the commission of inquiry is illegal, and should be disbanded. The law relevant to the case, known as Law No.26/2000, it says, makes no specific mention of such a commission.

Military lawyers insist that the right to inquire and establish whether or not serious violations of human rights occurred should rest with the House of Representatives in which the military, incidentally, is represented.

They also insist that the commission of inquiry complete its summons by producing proof that it was established by the National Human Rights Commission in full accordance with the law. This request was granted by the Central Jakarta District Court, where the case is being tried.

It would be asking too much to go into all the technicalities involved in this case. But one thing stands out clearly.

It is the fact that it is in the interest of the military itself, more than anyone else, to have the case duly settled in a court of law because this is the only way it can expect to rehabilitate its tarnished name.

It was Napoleon Bonaparte, that great military leader, who said that there could be no authority without justice. Let us hope that our military can see the wisdom of that statement.