Rights team probes campus attack
Andi Hajramurni, Makassar
A National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) team found indications on Tuesdays of human rights violations in an incident in which dozens of police officers stormed the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI) in Makassar, South Sulawesi, early this month.
"Preliminary evidence shows strong indications of human rights violations in the incident," said M.M. Billah, a member of the fact-finding team.
However, he could not give details on the preliminary findings as the team was still investigating the brutal May 1 attack, which injured 65 students including two who sustained gunshot wounds.
Billah and another team member Hasballah M. Saad arrived in Makassar on Tuesday for the four-day fact-finding mission.
Hours after their arrival, the two met UMI leaders and the student advocacy team for the incident as part of their probe.
Billah said further incriminating evidence of gross violations was the possibility that the attack was funded by state funds.
He said the attack could also be categorized a serious case of human rights violations if it caused a great number of human deaths.
"In the UMI incident as many as 65 people were hurt, but it still needs to be verified whether it already meets the conditions," Billah added.
He said the team was gathering evidence to determine whether the campus attack could be categorized as involving serious human rights abuse.
"That's why we need supporting evidence in the form of statements from eye witnesses and victims," Billah told journalists.
During the meeting with Billah and Hasballah, UMI students and their advocacy team provided the two with evidence such as bullet shells, the blood-soaked shirts of victims, their names and photos of the incident.
The students urged Komnas HAM to ensure that the perpetrators be tried in an ad hoc human rights court over the incident.
According to them, the decision of National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to fire South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Jusuf Manggabarani and three other top officers over the brutal attack was still not adequate.
However, Billah said the dismissals should be responded to positively and stressed that the attackers should be tried in a civilian court.
During their visit, the fact-finding team will also question police officers involved in the attack, in which they beat dozens of students with their bare hands and guns and kicked them.
The attack was launched after students, who were protesting the rearrest of terror suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in Jakarta, took a policeman hostage.
South Sulawesi Police has named at least 22 officers as suspects in the incident but only 10 will stand trial in a civilian court on charges of violating Articles 351 and 170 the Criminal Code.
On Monday, the Makassar Police disciplinary committee removed three high-ranking officers in South Sulawesi from their posts for their roles in the attack, and ordered that they be detained for 12 days to 17 days.
Earlier last week, the same committee also ordered the detention of 12 other low-ranking police officers over the incident.