Violence victims ask Military Police to be more serious

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)