Several Army soldiers saw but did not stop massacre: Witness
Several Army soldiers saw but did not stop massacre: Witness
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A witness testified on Monday in the human rights court for
the 1999 East Timor debacle that military troops were deployed to
a Suai church that was under attack, but they did nothing to stop
the killing.
First Insp. Sony Sanjaya, a member of the Mobile Brigade
Police serving in Suai when the raid took place, said he saw
several military troops standing near the St. Ave Maria Catholic
Church when a group of pro-Jakarta militias attacked
proindependence rivals seeking refuge at the place of worship,
leaving 27 people dead, including three priests.
"I asked the troops what was going on. They just said that the
prointegration group attacked the church," Sony told the court.
"I asked them further why they let it (the attack) happen. They
just replied that they could not stop it since there were too
many attackers."
Sony said he fired warning shots in an attempt to stop the
clash, which was effective for a while, but then some of his
subordinates notified him of a summons by his commander.
It is unclear whether other police officers also tried to
restore order and peace.
Sony was testifying against former Covalima regent Col. Herman
Sedyono, former Suai military commander Col. Sugito, Sugito's
predecessor Lt. Col. Liliek Koeshadianto, Suai military command
chief of staff Capt. Achmad Syamsudin, and former Suai Police
chief Lt. Col. Gatot Subiakto, who are charged with gross human
rights violations.
Also appearing as a witness in court was Pranoto, the
principal at the local junior high school in Suai.
Sony said he saw Liliek near the church and speaking with the
leader of the pro-Jakarta militia group Laksaur, the late Olivio
Mendoza Moruk.
"I heard Pak Liliek ask Olivio to leave the area. But Olivio
replied, 'No, Commander ... I'll take responsibility," Sony said.
Pranoto, who had accompanied his family members to seek refuge
in Suai, said he saw Olivio drive a truck loaded with many
weapons, including daggers and bows and arrows.
Sony said he had only heard that 27 people were killed in the
massacre and that he recognized one of them as the supporter of a
proindependence group.