PDI July 27 tragedy to be brought to court

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After two years of on-and-off investigation, state prosecutors revealed that they were to bring the security officers and civilians allegedly involved in the July 27, 1996, violent takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in Central Jakarta before the district court.

Head of the Jakarta Prosecutors' Office, Muljohardjo, said on Monday that he had received three files that had been completed by the Military Police and had arranged the question of court jurisdiction with the military prosecutors as well.

He refused to comment in detail on the suspects.

Muljohardjo said that all suspects would be tried before a civil court as the losses from the incident had all pertained to the civilian side.

During a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission II on legal and home affairs, Muljohardjo said that the prosecution would be focusing on the field commanders who were in charge of the military operation to evict Megawati's supporters from the PDI headquarters.

"We will not be seeking the conviction of the higher commanders as such charges are hard to prove," he said, citing that all the suspects would be charged under Articles 170 and 406 of the Criminal Code on the use of violence.

The two articles carry two different maximum jail sentences -- between seven and nine-years imprisonment if the violence causes severe injuries, and up to 12 years in jail if loss of life results.

Without elaborating further, Muljohardjo told reporters after the hearing that the first file was on Col. Purnomo, while the others were on two civilians identified as Jonathan Marpaung and Tanjung.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who commanded the Jakarta military during the tragedy, and former Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Hamami Nata have also been implicated in the case. Sutiyoso has said that he received the order from the president at the time.

Another big name tipped as being involved in the case is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the current coordinating minister for political and security affairs. It was Susilo who gave the order to disperse Megawati's supporters.

The probe into the case has taken two years to complete due to several attempts on the part of the suspects to halt the process.

The attack was designed to evict loyalists of the ousted PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri from the party's headquarters at Jl. Diponegoro No. 58, following a government-backed PDI congress in Medan that elected Soerjadi as the party's new chairman in June 1996.

The party headquarters' takeover triggered unrest throughout Central Jakarta, resulting in the deaths of at least five people with another 23 people still being on the missing list. Many people believe that the number of deaths was higher.

Now the President and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Megawati apparently prefers to forget the incident as shown by her close links to the military and, most recently, her full support for Sutiyoso's reelection in the upcoming gubernatorial election.