National figures to testify in May riots inquiry
National figures to testify in May riots inquiry
Kurniawan Hari
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Four national figures -- Abdurrahman Wahid, Nurcholish Madjid,
Adnan Buyung Nasution, and Salim Said -- will testify before an
inquiry of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)
investigating the 1998 May riots.
Inquiry chairman Salahuddin Wahid said on Friday that his team
would hear an explanation from the four about the political
situation at the time of the riots.
"We believe the May riots were sparked by political rivalries.
We want to hear an explanation from them," Salahuddin told The
Jakarta Post on Friday.
Abdurrahman and Nurcholish were among the national leaders
summoned by then president Soeharto before the latter stepped
down on May 21, 1998.
Buyung is a lawyer and Salim Said an observer of political and
military affairs.
The inquiry anticipates that the national figures will be able
to throw light on the political rivalry at that time so that the
team could make a strong conclusion.
The team believes that the massive riot in 1998 was planned.
However, his team has not been able to identify the mastermind of
the riots which claimed more than 1,200 lives, said Salahuddin.
In the two-day nightmare -- which followed the shooting of
four Trisakti University students who were taking part in a
nationwide rally to demand the resignation of authoritarian ruler
Soeharto -- hundreds of shops, shopping centers and homes were
looted and set ablaze.
No state security officers were around to prevent the crimes,
except for those hired by business owners to guard their assets
before the rampage even started. This peculiar fact strengthened
the suspicions of many that the riots were part of a conspiracy
among those in power to quash the people's movement.
The nine-member inquiry is now working to finish its
investigative report and will then hand over the report to the
Attorney General's Office for further action.
Asked whether the report would be better than the previous
report made by the Komnas HAM, Salahuddin admitted that he had
not read the report yet.
"But, of course, we strive to do our best," said Salahuddin
who is also Komnas HAM deputy chairman.
He said Nurcholish and Buyung had agreed to testify before the
inquiry.
Earlier, the inquiry subpoenaed dozens of retired and active
military and police officers. But, the military and police
officers did not answer the summons.
Komnas HAM has given the team six months, from March to
September this year, to finish its investigation.
After the investigation the team will conclude whether or not
gross human rights violations had been committed during the
riots.
Salahuddin said that he was not sure whether the inquiry had
gained public support.
Only rights activists, riot victims and their relatives were
concerned with efforts to unravel the May riots, asserted
Salahuddin.