Rights body joins chorus to reopen Tanjung Priok case

Rights body joins chorus to reopen Tanjung Priok case

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights joined a
growing chorus yesterday calling on the government to reopen the
case of a bloody riot in Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port district
nearly 14 years ago.

Commission leaders, during a meeting with Minister of Defense
and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, proposed the
establishment of a "truth and reconciliation commission" to look
into the Tanjung Priok riot and other similar cases in which
people felt injustices had occurred.

Commission deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman cited the July 27,
1996 riot in Jakarta as another example of an unresolved case.

"We can't ignore what happened in the past, but we can't let
these cases drag on for ever," Marzuki told reporters after the
meeting.

"We propose that this (new) commission seek to explain these
events and find ways of resolving the problem as best as possible
so that we can turn a new page."

Relatives of hundreds of people who went missing after the
Sept. 12, 1984 Tanjung Priok riot have been pressing the
government of President B.J. Habibie to reopen the case which
they describe as a massacre.

They were joined by survivors of the incident.

They demanded the military come clean and admit the high death
toll, and disclose the location where their loved ones are
buried.

The military has claimed that only 18 people were killed when
soldiers opened fire on antigovernment protesters who had been
agitated by Moslem preachers that night.

Dozens of the preachers and rioters were tried and convicted,
and the government has subsequently declared the case closed.

But relatives of the victims -- more than 400 at the last
count -- are disputing the military's version of events and
therefore the court verdicts, and demand that the military
leaders at the time be held accountable for the shootings.

The Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI)
joined the debate yesterday, with acting chairman Achmad
Tirtosudiro saying that while the case was closed in a political
sense, "legally, it is not necessarily settled, and can be
reopened".

Achmad said ICMI was following the debate very closely.

He noted that the government had reopened old cases as
President Habibie released several political prisoners and
reinstated their names. "But when it comes to this (Tanjung
Priok) case, a decision has yet to be made," he said.

Parni Hadi, general manager of Republika daily which reflects
ICMI's position, said the way his newspaper had consistently
covered the issue "shows that ICMI cares a lot about the efforts
to resolve this case".

Relatives of the victims have formed a group called National
Solidarity for the 1984 Tanjung Priok Affair (Sontak), which has
been lobbying for the case to be reopened.

They are specifically targeting former vice president Gen.
(ret.) Try Sutrisno and former defense minister Gen. (ret.) L.B.
Moerdani, respectively the Jakarta military commander and Armed
Forces commander at the time. They held the two men accountable
for giving the order to open fire at the crowd.

They disputed the military's claim that soldiers opened fire
in self-defense, arguing that the protesters had gone unarmed to
the local military office to seek the release of four colleagues
who had been detained in connection with a fight with a soldier.

Try responded to the demands this week, saying that while he
was prepared to give testimony, he called on the people to give
the case a rest and to look ahead instead reopening old wounds.
(imn/byg/emb)