Retired general stands first trial for Tanjung Priok massacre
Retired general stands first trial for Tanjung Priok massacre
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A retired general appeared before a court on Tuesday charged with
crimes against humanity in the bloody Tanjung Priok massacre in
1984 when soldiers gunned down at least 14 Muslim protesters.
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Rudolph Butar-Butar, who appeared at the
Jakarta ad hoc rights tribunal, was a lieutenant colonel and
headed the North Jakarta district military command when the
shooting incident took place on Sept. 12, 1984.
According to the prosecutor's charges, at least 14 people were
killed and 11 others injured in the incident, one of the most
publicized individual acts of civilian suppression during the 32-
year iron-fisted rule of former president Soeharto.
The prosecutors accused Butar-Butar of having failed to
prevent or halt the systematic killing of civilians when in fact
he had full authority to prevent the crime from happening.
"He failed to control the military personnel under his command
in the shooting incident or hand them over for legal action
afterwards," prosecutor Parada Nababan said in his indictment.
Butar-Butar is the 13th man to stand trial in the case. A
total of 14 retired and active military personnel have been
indicted in the massacre.
Under Law No. 26/2000 on human rights, they face a minimum of
10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of death if convicted.
During the incident the defendant was in charge of the 40-
strong Platoon III of the Air Defense Artillery Battalion based
in North Jakarta. The platoon was deployed on orders from the
district military command to guard the military compound and
important public facilities in the vicinity against possible
attack from angry protesters.
The protesters were demanding the release of four people who
were being held in the military command compound. They barely
reached the compound when troops opened fire.
The number of people killed in the incident varies. The
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) put the death
toll at 33, but military authorities said only nine people were
killed. Families of the victims, however, claim that almost 400
Muslim protesters were killed during the incident.
Speaking after the trial, the defendant rejected the
accusations, saying he did not violate any military procedure.
"I was just doing my duty to protect military and public
facilities from possible attack from the angry crowd. I object to
the substance of the indictment that says that I have committed
human rights violations," he told reporters after the trial.
Defense lawyer Yan Djuanda Saputera said: "What the soldiers
were doing in the incident was part of a self-defense mechanism
and it did not constitute a gross violation of human rights."
He said the soldiers were caught in a difficult situation.
"There were only 13 personnel against more than 2,000 angry
protesters. It was simply beyond their control," he said.
The trial was adjourned until Oct. 8, when the panel of
judges hears the defense statements.