Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Political parties continue to argue over the establishment of an ad hoc court to try the shooting of students in Jakarta in 1998 and 1999.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the United Development Party (PPP) have pushed the House of Representatives to recommend President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono set up ad hoc trials for the Trisakti and Semanggi shootings. The Golkar Party, however, has opposed the trial, saying that the House's 2004 investigation in the shootings renders a new trial irrelevant.
The March 15 plenary session at the house will decide whether to recommend the President issue a decree establishing the ad hoc court.
PDIP legislator Yasonna H. Laoly said the incidents were a "huge debt" that the political parties had to pay back to the reform movement and its fighters, especially students.
"The plenary session will be a test case to show whether political parties are committed to settling this unresolved, huge debt, including the abduction of 17 democracy activists in 1997," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
A recent House leadership meeting decided to take the issue to a plenary session instead of delivering a letter to the President asking for the ad hoc court to be established.
The law commission had previously recommended the President issue a decree to set up the court, following the Attorney General Adbul Rahman Saleh's refusal to investigate the shootings, which the National Human Rights Commission has described as "gross human rights crimes".
PPP national executive board deputy chairman Chozin Chumaidy said his party had asked its members at the House to remain consistent with the political stance taken by its legislators in the law commission.
"With no intention of discrediting the Indonesian Military, the three tragedies must be investigated thoroughly. Active and retired Army generals implicated in the cases must be brought to court," he said. "We want the relatives to see justice for the students killed during the incidents."
Golkar faction chairman Andi Matalatta said the party was skeptical because the three cases had already been tried and the House investigation had found no evidence of gross human rights violations.
"The government will face political hindrances to set up an ad hoc trial because the 2000 law on Ad Hoc Courts is not retroactive," he said.
Andi said that the 1998 shooting of students in Semanggi could not be classified as a human rights abuse because the students had staged a demonstration to oppose a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly and the Trisakti incident had been tried by the West Jakarta District Court, which had convicted all the soldiers involved in the shooting.