Yogi Arief Nugraha/BI & GB, Jakarta – Sixteen years after the massacre of Muslim protesters in the Tanjung Priok port area of Jakarta, families of the victims and their supporters continue to be highly critical of efforts to bring the military perpetrators to justice.
Tuesday afternoon, students from the House of Islam University commemorated the tragedy by holding a grand assembly and prayer session involving students, the families of the murdered and disappeared, their supporters and local residents.
The mourners gathered at the Al-Husna mosque and heard several invited speakers including Ustadz Abdul Qadir Jaelani, a leader of the National Awakening Party (PKB) nominally headed by President Abdurrahman Wahid, AM Fatwa, from the Crescent Star Party and also a survivor of the tragedy, and leader of the Muslim Students Association, Fachrudin.
The Tanjung Priok incident is one of the current government's hottest potatoes. There was widespread public rejection of the findings of a recent report compiled by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM). The report stated that the military opened fire after being attacked by protesters and that 33 people were killed. Critics claim the findings were the result of a deal arranged between the government, Komnas HAM and the military to protect the guilty and sideline the issue. The issue, however, refuses to go away. and plan to will commemorates the unfortunate event by burning effigies of generals allegedly responsible orchestrated the tragedy.
Some of those generals displays are including LB Moerdani and Try Soetrisno. The 16th years commemoration of the event known as the Tanjung Priok tragedy has been conducted by families and local residence of the suburbs.
Benny Biki, a relative of one of the victims, told Detik that past and current authorities were blocking the investigations, the release of information to the public and that several figures were attempting to stop the exhumation of bodies currently being carried out by a team from Komnas HAM and experts from the University of Indonesia.
He singled out Benny Moerdani, then Commander of the Armed Forces, and Try Soetrisno, then Vice President and military man. "I've heard that both Moerdani and Soetrisno continue to hinder attempts to exhume the sites," he said referring to Cibubur and Condet in Pondok Rangon, East Jakarta were bodies are currently being exhumed.
Investigators have called both Soetrisno and Moerdani, as well as other high ranking military officers and civilians in relation to the case, but have yet to name any as suspects, let alone prosecute. In his appearance, a very sick-looking Moerdani claimed 18 died and 53 were injured. The commemorations on the 16th anniversary of the event ended with the burning of effigies Moedani and Soetrisno.