Marsinah probe maybe reopened

SURABAYA (JP): The East Java military has pledged to support and be helpful to any efforts to reopen investigation into the death of labor activist Marsinah, almost seven years ago.

Spokesman for Brawijaya Military Command, Lt. Col. Djoko Agus, said here on Wednesday that the military would open its arms to police or any other parties that wish to completely unveil the dark case.

Djoko was responding to Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu, himself a former labor activist, who vowed to have the mystery of Marsinah's death disclosed.

Marsinah, a worker of a watch factory, PT Catur Putra Surya, in Porong, East Java, was found dead in an area close to a teak forest in the regency of Nganjuk on May 9, 1993. Her death was linked to a workers' demonstration to demand better salaries, which she had led a week before.

The district court here found nine people, including military personnel and the company's director Yudi Astono, guilty of premeditating the murder of Marsinah. Dissatisfied public prosecutors then appealed to the Supreme Court, which, to people's surprise, exonerated them in 1995 for 'inadequate evidence'.

Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, Yudi Astono's lawyer, said on Wednesday that he was pessimistic over the plan to reopen the case.

"Success fully depends on the (political) will of the military," he said.

"Why didn't the Military Commander order the reopening of the case? The military is the key to this enigma. Will the military be open hearted and accept punishment for its members?"

Trimoelja won the Yap Tian Hiem human rights award in 1993 for his disclosure of human rights violations in the questioning of the accused in the Marsinah case.

The East Java provincial legislative council established on Wednesday a special team to deal with the dark case. The team, led by Djarot Hidayat, was given no deadline to collect new evidence. (nur/sur)