May 1998 riot victims upset by legal move

JAKARTA: Dozens of human rights activists and family members of victims who died in the 1998 May riots expressed anger on Tuesday over the decision by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to reject the case files on soldiers and police officers implicated in the violence.

They said they thought the decision was aimed at helping the soldiers and officers escape justice.

"The AGO is buying time with these prolonged legal procedures, so that the perpetrators do not stand trial," Usman Hamid of the Commission for Victims of Violence and Missing Persons said.

The National Commission on Human Rights implicated a number of military soldiers and police officers in the riots following its investigation into the violence.

The Attorney General's Office earlier returned to the rights body the case files of officers linked to the 1998 Semanggi shooting. -- Antara