Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas-HAM) has asked the Central Jakarta District Court to use its authority to grill 12 soldiers, including two generals, over their alleged involvement in the disappearance of 14 pro-democracy activists between 1997 and 1998.
The rights body has twice summoned the 12 servicemen and two civilians, but they have refused to appear. "We have formally asked the court to summon the servicemen by force," Komnas-HAM chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said here on Monday.
Among the 12 military officers are former chief of Indonesian Military General Affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Djamari Chaniago, former Army spokesman Brig. Gen. (ret) Afiffudin Thaib and Col. Abdul Salam of the Army Special Forces (Kopassus).
The other nine are from the Kopassus group based in Cijantung, East Jakarta. They were part of the so-called Mawar (Rose) Team, whose involvement in the abductions has already been established.
Eleven of the team's members have been convicted and dismissed from military service.
Previously, the rights body summoned former TNI commander Gen. Wiranto, former Kopassus chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto and former chief of the Jakarta Military Command Lt. Gen. Safrie Syamsudin but they all refused to appear, arguing that the case was closed when the 11 soldiers were sentenced.
Ruswiati Suryasaputra, who leads the rights body's team of investigators, said the case was still far from over because 14 of the 20 abducted activists were still missing. She said Komnas-HAM needed to summon the soldiers not to prosecute them, but to gain information.
"We have the authority to investigate the cases to clarify whether the 14 are still alive or not. If they are still alive, their relatives need to know their whereabouts, or if they are dead they want to know where they were buried," she said.
"If they refuse to show up before the inquiry team, the court could use force to bring them to the dock," she added.
Safroedin Bahar, Komnas-HAM's commissioner for protection of communal rights, said it was unfortunate that the servicemen were defying the summons. He added that all people, including military personnel, were equal before the law. The military, he said, should set a good example by complying.