TNI respects KPP HAM's findings

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Monday it fully respected the findings of the government-sponsored Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) in East Timor.

TNI chief spokesman Air Force Rear Marshall Graito Usodo, however, stressed that the report's allegations of TNI personnel being involved in the campaign of violence and destruction in East Timor last year must first be proven in court.

TNI had, from the beginning, viewed the enquiry as a legal process to uphold justice, and therefore the finding must be respected, he said.

"But the generals (implicated in the report) must be given a fair hearing to determine whether or not they are guilty," said Graito, who last week took up the post which had traditionally been held by an Army officer.

He also appealed to the public to uphold the premise of presumption of innocence in spite of the commission's report.

Announcing the results of the four-month inquiry on Monday, the commission named Gen. Wiranto and five other generals among those who should be investigated further in connection with the mayhem which erupted in East Timor in September.

Wiranto, currently coordinating minister for political affairs and security, was TNI chief at that time.

The other five generals named in the report are former military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim; the former chief of the Udayana Military Command (which oversaw East Timor) Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri; former East Timor military chiefs Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman and Brig. Gen. Noer Muis; and former East Timor Police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen.

TNI respected the commission because it was established in September as a fortress to preempt a plan to set up an international tribunal on the mayhem in East Timor, Graito recalled. "The last thing we want is for outsiders to interfere in our internal matters," he said.

He also said TNI would study the report and act on the recommendations. He did not elaborate.

Gen. Wiranto, whose retirement from active military service has been signed by President Abdurrahman Wahid, declined to comment on the report.

"We should wait for the legal process," he said as quoted by Antara in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, where he was accompanying Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri on a two-day visit.

A formidable team of lawyers, retained to represent Wiranto and the other TNI officers, had threatened to sue the commission for libel if its report mentioned names before they were tried and convicted. They said the mentioning of their clients' names would damage the generals' reputation.

The team of lawyers, led by Adnan Buyung Nasution, is expected to officially respond to the commission's report on Tuesday.

But Erman Umar, a member of team, told The Jakarta Post he personally would respect the commission's findings and said there would be a lengthy legal process to prove the allegation of the involvement of the generals.

He said the lawyers, nevertheless, would look into the possibility that the commission had violated the principle of presumption of innocence by going public with the names.

"It is the courtroom which decides whether the generals are guilty or not. Even if the Attorney General has now received the report, it doesn't mean that an investigation will immediately be launched," he said.

Erman also said there might not even be a trial if the investigation by the Attorney General's Office failed to come up with evidence to build a solid case for the prosecution.

"It's just too early to reject the recommendations," he said.

TNI deputy commander Gen. Fachrul Rozi refrained from commenting on the report, saying he would rather wait until he learned of the government's official response.

"No comment. For sure, TNI will follow up any statement made by the government," Fachrul said in Lembang, West Java.

He declined to comment on the proposal that an international tribunal be established after a separate United Nations inquiry found evidence of the involvement of TNI personnel.

"TNI's stance will also depend on the country's attitude toward the proposal," he told reporters. (emf/43)