Top generals from army, police to be questioned
Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Inquiry Commission of Human Rights Violations for Semanggi and Trisakti cases (KPP HAM) Semanggi-Trisakti will question five generals about the extent of their roles in the 1998-1999 rights abuses.
Inquiry Commission chairman Albert Hasibuan said on Tuesday that the commission planned to question three army generals and two police generals.
He declined to name the generals but he did mention their ranks and position.
It is understood he was referring to former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin and former commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) (ret) Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto.
The former police officers are former National Police chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo and former Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata.
Hasibuan would only say that the ex-generals were in command when the incidents happened.
They are expected to be questioned in the second week of January next year, Hasibuan said.
"I am very optimistic that the commission will produce a comprehensive report of crimes against humanity committed by them," Hasibuan said.
The plan was revealed only a day after President Megawati Soekarnoputri gave the inquiry team a greenlight to question former officials believed involved in the cases.
The enquiry team is in charge of investigating the May 12, 1998 shooting of demonstrators at Trisakti University, West Jakarta and similar incidents at the Semanggi flyover in South Jakarta which claimed 13 lives in November 1998 and one in September 1999.
Four students were killed in the Trisakti tragedy, which triggered major riots in Jakarta and other cities across the country, eventually developing into anti-Chinese rioting.
It led to the downfall of former president Soeharto on May 21 1998.
The first Semanggi incident took place in November 1998 when hundreds of students staged a massive demonstration to oppose the imposition of emergency laws giving the military greater powers to quell unrest.
The second Semanggi case involved security personal shooting at student demonstrators opposing then president B.J. Habibie's presidential nomination in September 1999.
The 11-member KPP HAM Semanggi-Trisakti was established by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Aug. 27. 2001.