Priok victims allege military threats, ask for police protection

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Around 20 victims of the 1984 Tanjung Priok violence and their families asked the police to protect them from people they said were Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers.

Accompanied by activists from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Tanjung Priok residents said they needed protection to enable them to testify before the ad hoc human rights court, which is hearing alleged human rights violations involving the military almost 20 years ago.

The group was received by National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko DS.

"We have received repeated death threats. The last time, they said they would break my neck if I testified to the court against the defendants," one of the victims, who is also one of the key witnesses, told a media briefing at National Police Headquarters.

He said that the threats had been made by phone and in person, including when he was present at the trial of Kopassus commander Maj. Gen. Sriyanto Muntrasan on Thursday last week.

Sriyanto, 52, has been put on trial for his alleged role in the bloody incident, making him the highest serving Army officer to be called to account for the bloodbath. Prosecutors accused him of a crime against humanity, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of death.

Relating a similar experience, a family member of one of the Priok victims said he decided not to enter the courtroom during the trial of Sriyanto after he received a direct death threat. Hundreds of Kopassus soldiers packed the courtroom in a show of support for their commander, as well what could be construed as a show of force.

"I decided not to attend the trial but go straight home as the guys who threatened me appeared to be following me," he said.

Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid said they had requested protection from the police as the Attorney General's Office had failed to respond to their complaints.

"We have requested protection from the Attorney General's Office for the victims who are to testify in the trial, but as of today, they (the Attorney General's Office) have not responded to our request," said Usman.

In a meeting between the victims and the Attorney General's Office staff on Oct. 14, one of the prosecutors told the victims to report their worries to the police, saying it was the police who were responsible for providing victims and witnesses with protection.

Usman asked the police to provide protection for the victims and their families on their way to the court, during the trial and on their way back home.

"Otherwise, the witnesses will continue to be intimidated. It will disrupt the whole trial process," he said.

National Police deputy spokesman Soenarko said he would immediately report the request to his superior, National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.

"We will pass on the request to the police stations concerned. Those police stations will follow up on the request by deploying personnel to safeguard the witnesses," Soenarko said.

There have been conflicting figures given regarding the number of victims in the Tanjung Priok incident. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has put the death toll at 33, while the military has said only nine people were killed. The families of the victims, however, claim that almost 400 people were killed during the incident.