LAKSAMANA.Net, June 10, 2005 11:49 PM
TNI Passes Buck on Missing Activists Case
Laksamana.Net - Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander General Endriartono
Sutarto says it's up to the House of Representatives to decide whether former Jakarta
Military chief Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin should fulfill a summons for
questioning over the fate of 14 missing pro-democracy activists missing for over seven
years.
Sjamsuddin, who is now secretary general of the Defense Ministry, last week failed to
comply with an initial summons for questioning by a special team of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) over what happened to the activists,
who were allegedly kidnapped and killed by the military.
TNI's legal defense team had said Sjamsuddin and other senior officers wanted for
questioning over the case would not respond to the summons because there was no
clear legal foundation for Komnas HAM to question them.
In a hearing with legislators on Thursday (9/6/05), Sutarto said he would give Komnas
HAM as complete access as possible to the officers, in accordance with legal
procedures, as long as parliament endorses the investigation.
"TNI is obliged to give legal protection to the active and former soldiers in this case. If
you want to follow it up, go ahead. But it must be through a political decision from the
House," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
"If the House agrees this [the abductions] constituted a gross violation of human
rights, then yes I must give my permission. If not, I would be violating the law," he
said.
TNI's legal team has argued that Komnas HAM's probe is void because the
abductions took place over 1997-98, prior to the enactment of the 1999 Law on
Human Rights – which cannot be used to deal with past cases unless there is
endorsement from the government and parliament.
Sutarto said he abided by the principle that the law should not be used retroactively
unless there is backing from the House. "That's the provision of the law, so all of us
must obey the law," he said, adding Komnas HAM had apparently failed to obtain the
House's support for its investigation.
"The process must be followed up legally, like the Trisakti and Semanggi cases. Not
person by person," he said.
He was referring to the slaughters of pro-democracy student activists in Jakarta by the
military at Trisakti University in May 1998 and at Semanggi in November 1998 and
September 1999. The House in 2000 controversially ruled the killings did not
constitute a gross violation of human rights, so Komnas HAM could not seek to have
any generals prosecuted for the incidents.
Earlier on Thursday, Akil Mochtar, deputy chairman of House Commission III, urged
Sutarto to allow Komnas HAM to question Sjamsuddin and the other officers.
He said TNI's rejection of Komnas HAM's summons was baseless. "Crimes against
humanity could be dealt with because the principle of national and international
criminal law acknowledges the retroactive principle. So stop making excuses," he
said.
He said the 2000 Human Rights Court Law gives Komnas HAM authority to conduct
investigations into such crimes, so the commission was acting in line with the law
and had not erred.
Mochtar urged the TNI officers to come forward to explain and clarify the case of the
missing activists, for the sake of honor and abiding by regulations, otherwise people
will think the military has something to hide.
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono on Monday said he gave Komnas HAM his
permission to question Sjamsuddin over the abductions.
"Go ahead then. However, according to us, the Human Rights Law cannot be put into
effect retroactively because the law was enacted after the incident happened. So
according to us and TNI headquarters, Mr Sjafrie, Mr Prabowo and Mr Wiranto were
not affected," he said.
He said the effort to question Sjamsuddin would not disrupt the Defense Ministry's
performance or image. "A fact-finding team in 1998 decided Sjafrie was not proven
guilty of serious offences," he added.
Separately, Sjamsuddin said he respected the summons from Komnas HAM, but as
a soldier he was bound to obey any decision from TNI headquarters.
Copyright © 2000 - 2005 Laksamana.net, All Rights Reserved.
|
