'Masterminds of July 27 case should be investigated'

'Masterminds of July 27 case should be investigated'

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The victims of the July 27 incident are unlikely to see
justice served in the near future as legal enforcers are
reluctant to handle the case seriously, particularly if it
touches on former high-ranking officials, legislators said.

Dwi Ria Latifa, a member of the House of Representatives
Commission II for legal affairs, slammed the investigators of the
incident, who only focused on the common people, while ignoring
the masterminds.

"We want the people who masterminded the incident to be
investigated, not the people who were in the field during the
incident," Latifa, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), told The Jakarta Post on
Monday.

Latifa was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between
Commission II for legal affairs and top leaders of the province
of Jakarta, including Governor Sutiyoso, City Council chairman
Eddy Waluyo, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Patmanegara,
head of the Jakarta Courts Ridwan Nasution and head of the
Jakarta Prosecutor's Office Muljohardjo.

A joint police/military investigating team set up in July 2000
submitted 14 suspects of the July 27 incident to the Jakarta
Prosecutor's Office in mid-July of this year. The prosecutors
only charged two of them while the others were returned to
investigators.

Latifa, who has followed the case since the incident occurred
in 1996, expressed her surprise over the new list of suspects,
which excluded a number of former high-ranking officials.

Earlier, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo
expressed his disappointment over the fact that the files, which
had been submitted several times to the prosecutor's office, were
returned.

Responding to the complaints, Muljohardjo said on Monday that
the number of dossiers submitted by the joint team were not
backed up with strong evidence, therefore it was difficult for
his office to legally process the cases.

Didi Suprianto, another PDI Perjuangan legislator, also
expressed his disappointment over the exclusion of main suspects
from the new list.

Didi was referring to Sutiyoso, the former Jakarta military
chief, and Faisal Tanjung, the former military chief, Syarwan
Hamid, the head of the former military sociopolitical affairs,
and Hamami Nata, the former Jakarta Police chief.

Didi and Latifa said if the joint team was not serious in
resolving the cases, there were other ways to solve them,
including the possibility of establishing the House's special
committee (Pansus) or an ad hoc human rights court.

"We will try everything so that the cases will be solved
comprehensively," said Latifa.

The joint police/military investigating team comprises 70
members from the Military Police, military prosecutors, the
Jakarta Police detective unit and the National Police detective
unit. The team replaced the National Police team, which had
previously handled the investigation of the July 27 incident.

The joint team handed over three dossiers to the prosecutor's
office for the first time in September 2000. But the office
returned the dossiers to the team, citing a lack of evidence. It
has happened several times since then.

The team resubmitted dossiers in March, but they were also
returned.

List of main suspects of the July 27 incident submitted in
March: Let. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso (former Jakarta military chief),
Insp. Gen. Hamami Nata (former Jakarta police chief), Maj. Gen.
Zacky Anwar Makarim (former chief of national intelligence),
Soerjadi (former chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party),
Alex Widya Siregar (former PDI deputy chairman), Buttu Hutapea
(former PDI secretary-general), Jonathan Marpaung (PDI member),
Yorrys Raweyai (an executive of Pemuda Pancasila youth
organization).

List of suspects submitted in mid-July: Col. (ret.) Budi
Purnama, Lt. Soeharto, Soerjadi, Muhammad Rasyid, Eddy K.,
Pratomo Punto Dwito, Alex Widya Siregar, Buttu Hutapea, Romulus
Sihombing, Harsoko Sudiro, Jonathan Marpaung, Raboni alias Buyung,
Joni Momaga, Tanjung.