Trisakti and Semanggi inquiry result accepted

Trisakti and Semanggi inquiry result accepted

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

More Indonesian Military (TNI) top brass look set to face the
second human rights tribunal in the country's history since the
East Timor massacre after Komnas HAM accepted on Monday the
result of the inquiry into three high profile incidents in
Jakarta in 1998 and 1999.

After more than three weeks of uncertainty, the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) unanimously approved the
inquiry report, which recommends formal investigation into
several TNI and police officers over their alleged role in the
gross human violations that took place in the clashes between
students and security troops in Trisakti University in May 1998
and nearby Semanggi cloverleaf in November 1998 and September
1999.

Komnas HAM chairman Djoko Soegianto said the recommendations
would be submitted to the Attorney General's Office for formal
investigation.

"No correction nor changes were made to the inquiry report.
The case, in accordance with the human rights trial law, will be
submitted to the Attorney General's Office within seven days,"
Djoko told reporters after the three-hour plenary meeting.

The special session was held -- after two delays -- in order
to assess whether the report was substantial enough in finding
that the security authorities had committed crimes against
humanity in the incidents.

The now-defunct inquiry team, that comprised Komnas HAM
members and other human rights activists, submitted their
findings into the three cases of violence that claimed dozens of
lives to the rights commission last month.

Four Trisakti University students were shot to death in May
1998 after they held a demonstration against Soeharto's New Order
regime. Their death triggered riots across the country that led
to the fall of the former president.

The Semanggi I and II incidents took place during the brief
tenure of B.J. Habibie, Soeharto's successor. More than a dozen
people were killed in the two cases, when security troops quelled
thousands of protesters who demanded sweeping reforms.

The inquiry identified 50 high and middle-ranking military and
police officers believed to be involved in the killings, and
demanded they be charged with crimes against humanity.

One high-ranking military officer and two high-ranking police
officers were accused of involvement at a strategic level, 11
high and middle-ranking officers at the operation command level
with 36 middle-ranking officers at the field command level.

A number of retired and active military and police top brass,
including former Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto and
former National Police chief Gen. (ret) Roesdihardjo were
summoned several times by the inquiry for questioning. They
refused to appear on the grounds that the inquiry lacked a legal
foundation.

Following its own investigation, the House of Representatives
declared that the incidents were not classified as gross human
rights violations.

But the Komnas HAM-sanctioned inquiry team concluded that the
security officers were fully involved in the killings and used
both power and weapons "in an excessive way for the sake of
certain political interests".