INDONESIA: Yet another human rights investigation compromised
The government of President Abdurrahman Wahid appears to be indulging in a veritable orgy of investigations into human rights violations — ranging from the post-ballot violence in East Timor last September, military abuses in the provinces of Aceh and West Papua and state-sponsored violence against political dissidents during former dictator Suharto's 32-year rule.
But confidence in the government's willingness to take decisive action against high-ranking military officers was dealt a blow when the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) released its findings on June 16 into the notorious Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984.
Komnas HAM announced that it had found no evidence of intentional mass killings or burials. The June 17 Jakarta Post reported that, in a submission to the House of Representatives, the chairperson of the commission, Djoko Sugianto, said that it had concluded "The shootings were forcibly carried out by the security officers [at the time] after being attacked by the masses".
Although he admitted "human rights violations did occur", it was not a "massacre" and that violations were "conducted by both the security personnel and the mobs". The report said only 33 died, including nine killed by the masses, and 36 others were tortured by soldiers.
The inquiry began in March and a number of former high-ranking military officers such as then-armed forces chief General "Benny" Murdani and former vice president General Try Sutrisno were implicated.
Claiming that it had no legal power to conduct a further investigation, the commission recommended that the government comprehensively solve the incident by, among other things, apologising to and compensating the families of the victims.
"We also urge the Indonesian military chief to investigate all security officers involved in the incident, especially their commanders", Sugianto was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.
'Symbol' of Muslim anger
The September 12, 1984 massacre — in which dozens of people were killed and injured when troops fired on peaceful Muslim demonstrators in the port district of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta — has long been a symbol of Muslim resentment against the former Suharto dictatorship. Under Wahid's new "reform" government, many families of the victims held high hopes that those responsible would finally be brought to justice.
The shootings were the climax of a series of incidents which began on September 7, when a preacher held a sermon at a local mosque condemning government policy. Leaflets were also distributed and anti-government slogans painted on walls.
When a local security officer entered the mosque and ordered that the slogans be painted over, he was ignored. He then soaked paper in drain water and used this to black out the signs. Feelings were further incensed when the officer entered the mosque in muddy boots (shoes must normally be removed before entering a mosque).
As an angry crowed swelled, the officer made a hasty retreat. Police returned later and arrested four people.
Five days later, a well-respected Muslim leader, Amir Biki, set up a street podium repeating the criticisms before a large crowd and demanding the release of the four detainees. The authorities ignored the requests and by evening a huge crowd had gathered, which then marched on the police station where their colleagues were being held.
Eyewitness reports say the demonstrators were stopped before they reached the police station by a company of air artillery troops which had barracks in the area and by three truckloads of soldiers with automatic weapons.
Without warning, troops began firing directly into the crowd. Some of the injured who rose to their feet were killed by bayonets and bystanders who tried to help the injured were also shot.
Soon after the massacre, army trucks arrived to remove the bodies, the injured being taken to the Jakarta Army Hospital. Other hospitals were instructed not to accept casualties. Fire engines arrived soon afterwards to wash away the blood.
Since all of the killed and wounded were taken away by the military, the exact number of victims is still unclear. The most comprehensive report, compiled by the Al Araf Mosque put the number at 63, with more than 100 seriously wounded.
The following day Murdani summoned the editors of all of the Jakarta newspapers to give his version of events. Admitting that troops had fired "in the direction of the mob", he claimed that only nine people had died and 53 has been injured. Most reports in the Indonesian press supported Murdani's version of events.
In April 1985, sentences of one to three years were passed against 28 people accused of participating in the demonstration, who were found guilty of "waging resistance with violence" against the armed forces. Many of the accused were seriously wounded — some crippled for life — and calls for a public inquiry were ignored.
Angry reaction
In an angry response to Komnas HAM's report, on June 20, a group of some 50 students calling themselves the Inter-Campus Muslims Students Association stormed the Komnas HAM offices, breaking down the front gate, while others jumped over the fence and tore down the Komnas HAM billboard after spraying it with red paint. Two trucks of police arrived but only intervened after students began throwing stones at the building. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.
Earlier a smaller group of Muslim students also visited the offices to reject the results of the investigation and call for a new investigation.
A second attack occurred on June 23 when Muslim protesters damaged a restaurant in an elite Jakarta neighbourhood after throwing rocks at the Komnas HAM offices. Calling itself the Islamic Defenders' Front, they accused the commission of bias and said it should be dismantled. Several windows were smashed but there were no reports of injuries.
They also complained that the commission was not properly investigating current violations against Muslims in Aceh and in the Maluku islands where clashes between Muslims and Christians have claimed as many as 3000 lives since January.
On June 24, the Jakarta Post reported that the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) had called on Komnas HAM to reinvestigate the case. It also demanded that it be conducted by a different set of people.
Kontras coordinator Munir told a news conference on June 23 that the findings should be retracted. The rights body has been "busy seeking justifications and excuses for forgiveness for the rights abusers", he said.
Kontras had earlier said that the commission had committed a "political and legal scandal" following the investigation team's meeting with officers at the military headquarters in Cilangkap. The meeting reportedly stressed concessions which Kontras charged would affect the investigators' neutrality.
The investigation team's recommendations, Munir said, "contrast with the obligation [of the team] to push for legal accountability".
Munir also cited statements in the investigation report which he said were irrelevant. The report "said severe human rights abuse done by the masses included provocation ... There is not one international convention which states provocation is a human rights abuse", he stated.
In the ten months since the Wahid government took office, only two of the scores of cases currently under investigation have been concluded — neither with a satisfactory result according to critics.
The first involved the massacre of 57 civilians in Aceh in July 1999, following which 24 low-ranking soldiers received extremely light sentences of between eight-and-a-half to ten years last May.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch/Asia referred to the trial as "lacking credibility and legitimacy" and warned that if the trial was a "foretaste" of how the authorities planned to conduct trials into the violence in East Timor, "it does not bode well".
The results of the Tanjung Priok investigation only lends further weight to the view that the government is unwilling to take decisive action against high-ranking military officers and that the only way those responsible for the violence and destruction in East Timor will be brought to account, is if they are tried in an international tribunal.
BY JAMES BALOWSKI