YLBHI hails military probe into Nipah deaths

YLBHI hails military probe into Nipah deaths

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has
praised the Armed Forces after it declared that it will continue
investigating six soldiers in connection with the shooting dead
of four villagers in Nipah, on Madura Island, East Java, three
years ago.

"Every effort to start court proceedings against the suspects
in the Nipah incident should be warmly applauded," the foundation
said in a statement yesterday.

Chief of the Brawijaya Military Command, which covers East
Java, Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo has said that the soldiers, allegedly
responsible for the deaths, could be brought before a military
tribunal if there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

"The six military officials are currently being questioned by
military investigators," Imam was quoted by the Antara news
agency as saying on Tuesday. "They will be brought before a
military tribunal if there is evidence to support the
allegation."

Imam also said that the military command would publicly
apologize if the soldiers were found guilty.

Three men and a woman from Nipah village, Sampang regency,
were killed in Sept. 1993 when troops opened fire on
demonstrators who were protesting against a government team sent
to measure land being appropriated for a reservoir.

The planned dam, which was supposed to submerge 170 hectares
of land belonging to the farmers, was expected to irrigate over
1,000 hectares of rice paddies. According to the East Java
provincial public works office, around 240 families were to be
affected by the project.

The land appropriation project has been canceled in the wake
of the incident, which caused a furor.

Although the military has already admitted that there was a
violation of procedures by soldiers in the Nipah incident, no one
has been brought to trial so far. "The investigation is
continuing," Imam has said.

YLBHI yesterday demanded that the legal hearings on the
incident be held in an objective, open and fair manner.

The statement, signed by YLBHI's director for operations
Bambang Widjojanto, also demanded that the military tribunal
should not exclude other, civilian, officials from the case. The
tribunal should avoid the use of the term "violation of
procedures" which would incriminate military officials only.

The foundation suggested that former Sampang regent Bagus
Hinayana be held accountable as well.

It was Bagus who ordered that a number of officials, both
military and civilians, be mobilized to accompany the land
measurement team. (imn)