Priok victims allege military threats, ask for police protection
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.