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.