Prosecutors urge ad hoc trial to go on
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Prosecutors asked the court on Tuesday not to dismiss the trial of four middle-ranking military officers and a police chief accused of committing crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999, and countered defense claims that the trial was legally and technically flawed with regard to a retroactive law.
"We acknowledge the universal legal principle of lex specialis derogate lex generalis, meaning that any law, which is specifically regulating a certain case, takes precedent over general laws.
"In this case Law No. 26/2000 on a rights tribunal, which adopts the retroactive principle, is more specific in regulating the case than the amended 1945 Constitution, or any other laws such as the Criminal Code, which do not recognize such a principle," Prosecutor Darmono told the court.
It was the third hearing for former Covalima regent Col. Herman Sedyono, former Suai military commander Lt. Col. Liliek Koeshadianto, his successor Lt. Col. Sugito, former Suai military command chief of staff Capt. Achmad Syamsuddin and former Suai Police precinct chief Lt. Col. Gatot Subiaktoro. Suai is the capital of Covalima regency, located in southwest East Timor.
The five defendants were blamed for failing to control the people under their command, who were accused of killing at least 27 civilians and three priests taking refuge in the St. Ave Maria Church on Sept. 6, 1999, two days after the announcement of the ballot results which confirmed the overwhelming majority voted for independence.
In an earlier hearing, defense lawyers challenged the legality of the ongoing trials against their clients, arguing that "the country's legal code did not recognize the retroactive principle."
They referred to Article 28 of the amended 1945 Constitution, which ruled out any retroactive principle.
Lawmakers amended the 1945 Constitution during the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly last year, a year after former president Abdurrahman Wahid, along with legislators, issued Law No. 26/2000 in November 2000.
The defense lawyers had also planned to go to the Assembly and the Supreme Court, demanding a review of Law No. 26/2000.
The prosecution also urged the court to go through with the trial in order to prevent international interference.
"For Indonesia, it is necessary to demonstrate before the international community that we can solemnly impose the law,...that we insist upon and are able to try such gross human rights violation cases ... to prevent a possible intervention by the UN Security Council should we fail to proceed with it," Darmono explained to the court.
Like other hearings, the courtroom was occupied by military figures -- mostly from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) -- and their relatives. Only a few high ranking military officers attended the trial, held at the Central Jakarta District Court.
Darmono further asked the panel of judges to ignore an earlier objection by the defense which claimed that the indictment was premature because the ad hoc tribunal had not yet declared the defendants' subordinates, who were accused of being directly involved in the violence, guilty.
Presiding Judge Cicut Sutiarso adjourned the trial until April 9 to await the judges' decision on whether or not to suspend the trial.