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)