Lest we forget

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.