Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Medan – The parents of dozens of students killed in several incidents that took place in 1998 and 1999 gathered at the residence of former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto on Monday to mount pressure on him to comply with a summons for an inquiry scheduled later in the day.
They assembled at Wiranto's house at Jl. Simprug Golf V J/1, in the residential area of Permata Hijau, South Jakarta, to ask the retired general to act as a role model for his juniors, who have also been summoned for questioning by the Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) on the tragedies occurring at Trisakti University in May 1998, and near the Semanggi cloverleaf in November 1998 and September 1999.
Wiranto was scheduled to face questioning on Monday, after KPP HAM sent him the second summons. Wiranto and his family reportedly live in Permata Hijau most of the time beside owning two other homes in the city.
"We hope you can come to help unravel the case ... your appearance would set aside opinion that the military and the police officers are escaping responsibility," one of the parents, Arief Priyadi, read from a letter to be presented to Wiranto.
But Wiranto was not home, according to one of his adjutants, Suherlan, who met the visitors at the resident's front gate. "Pak Wiranto has been out of town since Friday evening," he said.
Former National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi was also scheduled to be questioned on Monday. Like Wiranto, Roesmanhadi failed to show.
KPP HAM chairman Albert Hasibuan said that the inquiry would give a harmful evaluation of the officers' absence in its recommendation to investigators. "We can conclude that their absence means that they refuse to comply with the summonses and are not willing to clarify their involvement in the incidents," said Hasibuan, who is also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), which established KPP HAM.
Both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police have written to KPP HAM that they will not let their officers be questioned in connection with the cases since the House of Representatives had conducted a similar investigation and recommended that they fall under the civil or military judiciary instead of the human rights court.
Separately in Medan, North Sumatra, Army chief of staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto reaffirmed that the officers' refusal to appear at the inquiry was not resistance but instead a part of the institution's efforts to uphold the law.
He was in town to install the new Bukit Barisan Military commander, Maj. Gen. Idris Gasing. "The cases took place in the past, therefore the investigation should first secure the House's approval. And the House has stated that there were no gross violations of rights during the incidents," Endriartono said.