Recommendations on Priok case awaited

Recommendations on Priok case awaited

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
HAM) is slated to hand over 23 names, recommended to be named as
suspects in the 1984 shooting in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

Those named may include former vice president Gen. (ret) Try
Sutrisno and former Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) L.B.
Moerdani.

"We'll hand over a report, comprising names of recommended
suspects and the autopsy results of the victims during the
incident to the Attorney General's Office tomorrow (Saturday),"
Secretary-general of the rights commission Asmara Nababan told
The Jakarta Post on Friday evening.

But, he declined to mention the names of the recommended
suspects.

A staffer at the rights commission, however, revealed that the
suspects were from the military, with ranks varying from private
to general.

"The generals include Gen. (ret) Try Soetrisno and Gen. (ret)
L.B. Moerdani," he said, while adding that the number of suspects
might increase, depending on the results of further
investigation.

Try was the Jakarta Military commander, while Moerdani, also
called Benny, was the ABRI chief when the incident took place.
Try was later elected as vice president from 1988 until 1993.

In the preliminary inquiry, both Try and Benny dismissed
accusations that they had instructed troops to shoot the
protesters.

Benny, who suffered a stroke recently, said he was informed of
the incident by Try half-an-hour after it had taken place.

The source said the commission also named several officers
from the Jakarta Military Command, including Maj. Gen. (ret)
Pranowo, former director-general of immigration.

The rights commission also named Brig. Gen. Soenardi, former
director of the Army's Gatot Soebroto Hospital.

"He (Soenardi) is accused of having deliberately permitted the
disappearance of the victims' medical records," the source told
the Post.

The clash erupted following provocative lectures at the
Tanjung Priok Rawa Badak Mosque by preachers, who criticized the
government. The military claimed that 40 people died in the
confrontation, while eyewitnesses said they had seen a truck
loaded with charred bodies.

An initial inquiry by the commission-sanctioned investigation
team was held in March. But, the team failed to identify either
victims or evidence, including autopsy reports of the victims.

A new inquiry team, led by former deputy National Police chief
Maj. Gen. (ret) Koesparmono Irsan, exhumed the graves of the
victims together with forensic experts from the Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital and the police's Forensic
Laboratory.

Preliminary results of 14 remains showed that they had been
abused before being buried in several cemeteries in North
Jakarta. The bodies' characteristics matched physical data
obtained from relatives.

Separately, Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes M.A.
Rachman said the report would complement the commission's initial
report which had been returned by Attorney General Marzuki
Darusman in July due to lack of evidence.

"We'll first study the report. If we find it complete, we may
form a special team to investigate the case," he told journalists
at his office on Friday. (bby)