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)