Trial on Manggarai shooting begins
Trial on Manggarai shooting begins
Yemris Fointuna, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara
A police disciplinary committee began the trial on Thursday of four middle-ranking and 19 low-ranking police officers over their roles in the bloody Manggarai shooting incident in March this year.
The four middle-ranking police officers in question were Adj. Sr. Comr. Boni Tompoi, the then chief of Manggarai Police precinct, Adj. Comr. Djamudin, the then chief of operations at the police precinct and two other officers First. Insp. I Made Andhika and Second Insp. I Wayan Bayu.
All the 23 police personnel were accused of violating Government Decree No. 2/2003 on the code of discipline for police personnel.
Spokesman of East Nusa Tenggara provincial police Comr. Butje Helong said that the personnel would face various penalties in line with their actions.
These include a written warning, a one-year delay in promotion, a delay in the regular salary increase, demotion and the severest punishment, 21 days imprisonment.
The trial on Thursday was presided over by deputy chief of East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Police Sr. Comr. Arthur Damanik.
The session was held until late Thursday afternoon, and it will continue on Friday.
The Manggarai shooting began when Manggarai Regent Anton Bagul Dagur ordered his subordinates to cut down thousands of coffee trees in plantations belonging to local residents in Cocol area in early March. It was not the first act of destruction. Last year, authorities destroyed about 15,000 hectares of coffee plantations located in the forest, claiming that the area was a protected forest.
The plantation destruction went on smoothly in March. There were few residents in the area when public order officials from the administration and police personnel came to the area and began destroying the trees. The residents, who insisted that the area was ancestral land, fought against the unilateral order, but they were arrested and detained at the Manggarai Police station.
The following day, some 400 Cocol residents descended on the Manggarai Police headquarters and questioned the arrest of their neighbors. The protest became rowdy when the police refused to release the arrested residents and the angry crowd began attacking police personnel.
In retaliation, police personnel acted violently and fired shots into the crowd, killing six people and seriously injuring 28 others. The incident grabbed the attention of the national media, and a team of police from the National Police headquarters quickly flew to the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Police Headquarters to investigate the incident.
Chief of Manggarai Police precinct was immediately fired after the incident. Several civilians were named suspects in masterminding the protest, while police personnel stood trial over their deeds.
The shooting drew sharp criticism from the media and non- governmental organizations both in the province and in Jakarta, prompting the National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) to deploy a team to the province to investigate the incident.
The investigation is still ongoing. The rights body will produce reports over the incident, and based on the reports, the police personnel could face trial before an ad hoc tribunal.