Soldier faces six years over Liquisa killing

JAKARTA (JP): Army prosecutors have urged a military tribunal in Denpasar, Bali, to sentence a soldier to six years and nine months imprisonment for ordering the killing of six unarmed civilians in the Liquisa regency of East Timor in January.

The prosecutors said yesterday that the action of First Lieutenant Jeremias Kasse, in ordering the execution, went against the military oath and tarnished the image of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) in East Timor, Antara reported.

"It even harmed the image of Indonesia internationally, especially concerning human rights," said Lt. Col. Asmar Gutji, the chief military prosecutor.

He urged the court to have the defendant expelled from the military. "His presence in the service cannot be defended."

The trial was adjourned until Thursday to allow Jeremias' lawyers, Lt. Col. Heru Cahyono and Second Lt. E. Susanto, time to prepare their final submissions.

Trying Jeremias's case in the military tribunal is a panel of three judges, led by Col. M. Panjaitan and including Lt. Co. Tjok Raka and Lt. Col. Wita.

An intelligence officer with the Liquisa district military command, Jeremias is one of two soldiers being tried in connection with the killing in the remote Fabo village in Liquisa.

Jeremias headed the 30-strong unit which is said to have been on the trail of rebels of the East Timor armed separatist group, Fretilin, when the six civilians were killed. Reports of the incident sparked both domestic and international outrage.

The prosecutors said Jeremias ordered First Private Rusdin Maumere to "eliminate" the six villagers, in the belief that they were all linked to the clandestine Fretilin movement.

Col. Asmar said Jeremias had violated the Military Criminal Code's chapter 103 (disobeying the orders of a superior) and 121 (making a false report to a superior). He also violated chapter 55 of the (civilian) Criminal Code, the prosecutor said, by ordering someone to commit murder.

Eleven witnesses testified in the trial: five soldiers, including the accused's immediate superior, Lt. Col. Tris Suryawan; five civilians; and one expert witness.

The prosecutors said the accused had disobeyed an order that unarmed guerrillas be taken alive and that they be fired upon only if they resisted or opened fire first.

The tribunal heard that the six victims had been unarmed and had had their hands tied when they were killed.

Emotions

Jeremias did not deny these claims, merely insisting that the six had been connected with guerrilla activities. He said that he gave the order that they be killed shortly after one of his men had been stabbed during a raid on a house in Fabo village.

The defense called a military psychologist to testify that Jeremias had been tired and had lost control of his emotions after days of following the trail of guerrillas and after seeing one of his men incur injuries.

Separately, in the trial of the other accused, Rusdin, the court heard yesterday that the six people murdered had all been members of the Fretilin separatist group.

Rusdin, who is himself an East Timorese, said that conclusion had been drawn by the soldiers after interrogating the six detainees before putting them to death.

Rusdin has confessed to single-handedly slaying the six villagers, stressing that he was acting on an order from Jeremias.

His trial was adjourned until today when Prosecutor Lt. Col. Firman Coto is to make submissions on sentencing. (emb)