Violence victims ask Military Police to be more serious
JAKARTA (JP): Parents and relatives of abducted activists and students shot dead during demonstrations staged a protest on Tuesday in front of the headquarters of the Military Police, which was commemorating its 53rd anniversary.
Arif, representing the demonstrators, urged the Military Police Corps to disband if they could not seriously investigate the cases.
The usually patient relatives, who have attended the hearings of the military trial of abducted activists, were emotional in their demands.
Among unsettled cases are the shooting of students in a peaceful demonstration near Trisakti University, which precipitated the riots in May last year, and the shooting of students during the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in November.
Officers from the military's special forces were convicted and discharged for their involvement in the abduction of activists in early 1997, but several activists are still missing.
The demonstrators dispersed peacefully after a representative conveyed their demands to a military officer in his office.
Military Police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri Marin acknowledged on Tuesday that many cases could not be completed thoroughly. He cited uncooperative witnesses and a lack of skilled staff and adequate forensic facilities as reasons for their failures.
In his address at the headquarters in Central Jakarta, Djasri referred to the uncompleted investigation into the so-called Trisakti student shooting of May 12, 1998, claiming they experienced difficulties tracing bullets and firearms to gunmen.
"The corps has yet to investigate the abduction of pro- democracy activists... and the shooting of students at the Semanggi cloverleaf on Nov. 13, 1998, because witnesses were not cooperative with investigators," he said.
"It would be quite difficult to arrest snipers who shot the Trisakti University's four students if we failed to identify the kind of bullets used," he said after addressing the ceremony.
He denied accusations that the Military Police were not serious in handling the cases.
He gave examples of successful investigations of crimes involving servicemen. He referred to the shooting of civilians by servicemen during the Ambon riots in January and the torture of Acehnese detainees in Lhokseumawe prison, Aceh province, on Jan. 21.
In Lhokseumawe soldiers had admitted to have tortured civilians being detained in a makeshift prison. A military tribunal in February sentenced four low-ranking Army officers to jail, the longest sentence lasting two years and six months, for being found guilty of battery which led to the death of five villagers.
Djasri pledged to continue investigations into cases that were not yet complete, but declined to set a deadline. He also said that the corps would continue to improve the quality and numbers of personnel at the Military Police in anticipation of increasing criminal cases in the future.
Military Police investigators are required to formulate laws applying to both civilians and the military, he said.
Prabowo, Ghalib
Djasri said another constraint was the "inconsistency" of law enforcement from various sides, but he would not elaborate.
He also denied the corps was being discriminative in handling cases. He said the Military Police would "soon" summon Andi M. Ghalib, who is an Army lieutenant general and has temporarily vacated his position as attorney general over bribery allegations.
The Military Police have not investigated the alleged involvement of Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto in the abduction of activists. Djasri said the corps would have investigated Prabowo, former special forces commander, if they were ordered to. "But the military leadership appointed a Military Honor Council to handle the case," Djasri said.
The Council honorarily discharged Prabowo, who was last seen in Jordan.
Djasri added that the Military Police had received an instruction from the leadership to investigate Ghalib's case.
Djasri added the corps was questioning five people as witnesses over allegations of corruption leveled at Ghalib.
Noted businessman The Nin King has been questioned, while timber tycoon Prayogo Pangestu will also soon be questioned, he said. Both are under investigation by the Attorney General's Office for alleged banking law violations. The other witnesses were not named.(rms)