'Mass graves excavation violates Criminal Code'
'Mass graves excavation violates Criminal Code'
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The military has violated the country's Criminal Code by
excavating mass graves in Aceh, an expert says.
Topo Susanto, a legal observer from the University of
Indonesia's School of Law, said on Tuesday that despite the
imposition of martial law, the martial law administration in Aceh
did not have the power to impose martial law on civilians.
"Martial law applies to military personnel only while the
Criminal Code applies to civilians, including alleged members of
GAM," he said, referring to the separatist Free Aceh Movement.
Topo was asked to comment on the excavation of mass graves by
military personnel in Aceh. Some experts have suggested that
whatever evidence was found in these graves would now be
inadmissible in a court of law.
Under the prevailing law, only the police, in the presence of
forensic experts, have the right to excavate a mass grave.
According to Topo, the martial law administration should also
use the Criminal Law Procedures Code to prosecute police officers
responsible to manage the investigation.
"Under martial law, the military administration is allowed to
do some of the jobs of the police, such as making some arrests.
But they must later hand the suspects over to the police for
further investigation as required by the Criminal Law Procedures
Code. The police should then continue the investigation," he
explained.
Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi, the director of the National
Police's criminal investigation unit, declined to comment on the
issue, only promising that the police would be present during any
future excavations of mass graves in Aceh.
"Don't make a fuss about it. Don't let us blame each other.
What is more important is that we will be present at any
excavations in the future," he told reporters after a meeting
with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
He defended military officers who excavated the graves without
the presence of police officers, saying the police "could not
easily reach the sites, which were far from villages and
dangerous."
"They are also officials. If they didn't excavate the sites,
the villagers would," Aryanto claimed.
Komnas HAM, which had earlier announced the finding of three
possible mass graves in Aceh, has consulted with the police about
their excavation.
M.M. Billah, who heads the commission's ad hoc team on Aceh,
expected that the graves could be excavated next month.
According to the Criminal Law Procedures Code, the findings
resulting from the excavation of a mass grave will only be legal
and capable of being used in court proceedings if the excavation
is conducted by both the police and forensic experts.
Komnas HAM has accused the military of destroying evidence by
excavating the graves without the presence of police officers.
Destroying evidence is a crime punishable by a jail term.
Aryanto said that the police could only carry out an
excavation with the permission of the martial law administration
in Aceh.