May 1998 riot victims upset by legal move

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