No progress made in probe of bloody Semanggi incident

No progress made in probe of bloody Semanggi incident

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) admitted on Monday to no
progress in its three-month-old investigation into the fatal
shooting of protesters at the Semanggi cloverleaf in Central
Jakarta last Nov. 13

Maj. Gen. Djasri M., chief of the Armed Forces' Military
Police, said his team investigating the incident -- in which 14
were killed, 195 hospitalized and 239 treated for minor injuries
-- was unable to determine who opened fire on the demonstrators.

"We have worked very hard, given our best efforts, and still
we must say that no progress has been made," he told reporters at
his Jl. Merdeka Timur office in Central Jakarta.

He spoke of difficulties in questioning the many security
personnel, youths and student demonstrators involved in the
incident.

He said 126 of more than 380 security personnel, six students
and eight youths were questioned, but none gave definitive
answers on who was responsible for the shooting.

Djasri said his team also checked about 900 guns used by
security personnel deployed at the cloverleaf, but none matched
bullets in the shooting.

He said a ballistic test was performed on a bullet and several
projectiles taken as evidence from the incident site, but again
no match was found with bullets used by security personnel. Tests
were conducted at the National Police's forensic laboratory.

"This is an indication that the shooting was not committed by
(our) security personnel," he said.

The bullet was removed from the body of A. Rinanto, a security
guard who worked in Depok, while projectiles were collected from
the compound of private Atma Jaya University near the site of the
shootings.

Djasri refused to speculate if the shooting was committed by
secret snipers, armed civilian groups or military secret service,
which some people contend.

The shooting occurred when thousands of students, staging
demonstrations at the university to protest the People's
Consultative Assembly's Special Session from Nov. 10 to Nov. 13,
clashed with security personnel after they were blocked from
proceeding to the legislature's compound in Senayan, about 300
meters west of the cloverleaf.

The two-star Army general said his team on several occasions
contacted faculty of Atma Jaya University and relatives of
several of the dead, but no information was forthcoming to shed
light on the case.

He said the investigation continued.

"We'd appreciate anyone who can give information about the
shooting and (provide) suggestions for the investigation."

Asked to comment on possible adverse reactions to the team's
probe coming up empty-handed, Djasri said the public should be
realistic and accept the military's own limitations.

"We are very sorry because we have also encountered obstacles
in carrying out the investigation. But it remains our moral
responsibility to investigate the case thoroughly." (rms)