No massacre in Tanjung Priok?

No massacre in Tanjung Priok?

Our sense of justice was wounded on learning of the conclusion
drawn by KP3T (Commission to Investigate Past Human Rights Abuses
in Tanjung Priok) that no proof has been found of mass killings
during the 1984 tragedy. Furthermore, according to the
commission, the incident was an accident and was not planned in
advance. The troops were forced to shoot because the crowd
resisted.

Nor was that all. According to the commission, human rights
abuses were committed not only by the security forces, but also
by the crowd. The people were accused of having killed nine
security personnel as well as attacking the officers and setting
fire to a house of worship. The report was sent to the House of
Representatives and the President instead of to the Attorney
General's Office, as was the case with the earlier reports on
East Timor.

Anybody's sense of justice would be injured on reading the
KP3T's report. The Tanjung Priok tragedy, which occurred on Sept.
12, 1984, was a human rights violation and this is supported by
facts and is easy enough for anyone to see. Witnesses, press
documents, the perpetrators and graves and other facts are there
as proof that during the night of the tragedy the officers fired
into the crowd without warning. It is easy enough to prove that
the massacre was politically and ideologically motivated, and
therefore planned.

The KP3T's conclusions not only impair the people's trust in
the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), it is an
insult to all who have a conscience and believe that truth and
justice will somehow be revealed.

-- Republika, Jakarta