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)