Top generals from army, police to be questioned
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.