Soldiers on trial for shooting of Madurese

Soldiers on trial for shooting of Madurese

SURABAYA (JP): The long-awaited military tribunals for four soldiers allegedly responsible for the 1993 fatal shooting of four villagers of Nipah, Madura, began here yesterday.

Military prosecutor Lt. Col. R.X. Sukirman is seeking a four- year sentence for one of the soldiers, former chief of the Banyuates military resort Second Lt. Djakfar Sudjak.

Sudjak allegedly abandoned his post, a crime punishable with four years imprisonment. He was also accused of neglecting his duty of briefing his men about the extent of permitted security measures in the event of clashes with the villagers, who at the time were upset over the planned appropriation of their land.

The negligence eventually caused the subordinates to commit the shooting of the villagers, the prosecutor charged.

Sudjak's superior, chief of the military command of Sampang Lt. Col. Sugeng Wiyono, had reportedly outlined the type of military measures that Sudjak and his 19 men were supposed to have taken to safeguard security in the area.

The prosecutor said Sudjak failed to brief his men about Sugeng's orders. This is a crime punishable with a maximum sentence of two years and four months.

The other defendants are First PFC Siswanto, Chief Sergeant M. Said Riyadi and 2nd Sergeant Bambang Edy Cahyono.

The tightly-guarded court-room was packed with villagers who had been demanding such a tribunal since the incident.

The session was presided over by a panel of judges led by Judge Lt. Col. Hadi Setyanto.

Three men and a woman from the village on Madura Island were killed in Sept. 1993 when troops opened fire on locals protesting against a government team measuring land to be appropriated for a reservoir.

The planned dam, which was to submerge 170 hectares of land belonging to some 240 families of farmers, was expected to irrigate over 1,000 hectares of rice paddies. The project was shelved in the wake of the incident, but villagers reportedly still witness local authorities proceeding with topographic measurements.

According to the prosecutor, Sudjak left his post by some 500 meters to approach a mob of 1,000 angry villagers.

One of the villagers reportedly threw a spear at First Corporal Kasimun. Said Riyadi and Siswanto then opened fire on the mob from a distance of about 13 meters, while Bambang Edi Cahyono shot toward a tree surrounded by the villagers.

Sudjak himself reportedly gave three warning shots.

"But because of the defendant's failure to brief his subordinates, the three other defendants then ... targeted the villagers," the prosecutor said.

The four soldiers have been suspects in the case all along, but they had never been detained. Lt. Col. Eddy S. who acts as the supervisor of the court session, said the four were not considered to be a danger to anyone.

Eddy also exempted Sudjak's superior, Sugeng Wiyono, and said that the incident took place solely because of Sudjak's failure to follow orders.

Sugeng, however, will appear as a witness in the case. The trial continues. (15/31)