Press warned on coverage of Marsinah's case
Press warned on coverage of Marsinah's case
JAKARTA (JP): The military warned the local media yesterday
not to make too many assumptions when reporting the police
investigation of the murder of labor activist Marsinah.
"In reporting Marsinah's case, Indonesian journalists must not
make assumptions that could affect the ongoing investigation,"
Armed Forces (ABRI) chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Adiwidjoyo
said.
Their reports could even derail the investigation, he said
after attending the opening ceremony of the ASEAN police meeting
in Jakarta.
Everyone should be patient and leave the matter of finding the
real killers to the police, he added.
His remarks came amidst suggestions from legal experts that
the police expand their investigation into the realm of the Armed
Forces, whom many believe were involved in the murder two years
ago.
Police reopened the Marsinah case this month after the Supreme
Court exonerated the nine main defendants who had been found
guilty by the lower courts in East Java.
Marsinah's brutally mutilated body was found in May 1993 only
a few days after she led a workers strike at the watchmaking
company where she worked. The nine convicted were all executives
and security guards at the company, which is based in Sidoarjo,
East Java.
Brig. Gen. Suwarno said the military has not received any
reports suggesting that any of its members were involved in the
murder.
"Where did that information come from?" he asked reporters.
"You don't know that for sure. Let's not make such assumptions."
He pointed out that so far no ABRI officer has been questioned
by police in connection with the murder investigation.
The Brawijaya Military Command which oversees security in East
Java province is currently in the process of trying to restore
the name an officer who was convicted in connection with the
murder.
The officer, an Army captain, was found guilty by the military
tribunal last year for failing to report a meeting to his
superiors that purportedly discussed the murder plot. He served
his nine-month jail term and never appealed the sentence. But
with the nine main defendants now exonerated, his superiors say
he should be acquitted too.
On a separate occasion, Brig. Gen. Rusdihardjo, the chief
national police detective, said that the reopened investigation
will focus more on finding "material evidence".
"Finding the suspects comes later," he told reporters.
"We're starting from the beginning. That's what re-
investigation is all about."
Rusdihardjo explained that police have established two teams
for the investigation: One will try to determine the weaknesses
of the previous investigation that led to the acquittals of nine
defendants. The other will be looking at new suspects. (yud/emb)