Trisakti tragedy remains a mystery

Trisakti tragedy remains a mystery

JAKARTA (JP): The mystery behind the Trisakti University
shootings which killed four students remains no closer to being
unraveled today as it did two years ago.

Speaking before a House special committee on Tuesday, military
and police officers who held top posts during the May 12, 1998,
incident maintained that they were unaware of which personnel
opened fire on the student rally.

Giving their testimony to the special committee were former
Jakarta Military chief Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Syamsuddin, former City
Police chief Insp. Gen. Hamami Nata, former chief of the West
Jakarta Military subdistrict Col. Amril, former West Jakarta
Police precinct chief Snr. Comm. Timur Pradopo, and former chief
of the Jakarta Military Police Col. Hendardji.

Safrie and Hamami maintained that neither issued such orders
to their personnel who were assigned to security operations in
West Jakarta.

"In my capacity as chief of the military operation to maintain
security and order in the city, I instructed my subordinates to
use a persuasive approach to prevent students from staging
demonstrations outside their campus," Sjafrie said.

He said around 500 troops from the City Military had been
deployed to West Jakarta, but they were all equipped with rubber
bullets.

"I only received a report that the shooting occurred at around
5 p.m. I then held a meeting with my subordinates to discuss the
incident," he said, adding that former Indonesian Military Chief
Gen. Wiranto had also ordered an investigation into the incident
which produced minimal results.

Sjafrie stressed that he should not be held accountable for
the shooting as field security operations were directly under the
command of the City Police.

Meanwhile Hamami recounted that only two groups of security
personnel from the Mobile Brigade were deployed to handle the
demonstration at the Trisakti campus.

"Police personnel were each armed with 12 rubber bullets...I
was shocked upon receiving reports that four students were shot
dead in the incident," Hamami said.

"After we checked the field, the four students were shot dead
using live ammunition but we didn't know who opened fire," he
said.

He also argued that the police could not be held responsible
since "besides police personnel, a great number of troops from
numerous units in TNI were also deployed to help the police
handle the escalating situation."

However Col. Arthur Damanik, a senior police officer in the
security operation, told the special committee that Sjafrie
should be held responsible as the incident occurred during an
operation which was under his command.

"Sjafrie who commanded the joint operation to maintain
security and order in the city should be held responsible for the
tragedy," he said.

Arthur maintained that he himself was inside the campus
accompanying former City Police chief Brig. Gen. Gunawan at the
time of the shooting.

"I ordered security personnel to stop firing inside the campus
after learning that several students were injured," he said,
while adding that he has since suffered tremendous psychological
duress due to accusations of his involvement in the tragedy.

Several student witnesses however have expressed doubt on the
accounts given to the special committee.

Panda Nababan, chairman of the special committee, declined to
comment on the proceedings, saying only that "there must be
officials who should be held responsible but we have yet to make
a conclusion to the investigation."

So far the only legal measures taken on the shooting are six
low-ranking police personnel who have been convicted by a
tribunal for violating official procedures in the incident. They
were sentenced to between three to six months in jail. (rms)