Military tribunal to try Trisakti case

JAKARTA (JP): Eleven military personnel will be tried in a military tribunal on Monday for their alleged role in the shooting of Trisakti students, a military spokesman revealed on Thursday.

"It is not true that the case was frozen or there has been no improvement in the handling of the case," Rear Marshall Graito Usodo was quoted as saying by Antara.

He did not identify the defendants.

He said that accounts of 35 witnesses would be heard in the trial.

Documents of the Semanggi II shooting case would be filed with the military court on June 28, he said.

"The trial of these cases is proof of the military and police's commitment to prosecute in accordance with the law anyone who violates the law," Graito said.

Four students were killed in the Trisakti incident in May 1998 during a mass rally that led to the resignation of former president Soeharto.

Two police officers were sentenced by the military tribunal on Aug. 12, 1998 to 10 months and 4 months in jail respectively for ordering police to shoot at the crowd.

The Semanggi II incident took place in September 1999 where students clashed with the security officers in the wake of protests over a security bill. Five people were killed.