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The murder of four detainees in their
cells in Cebongan prison in Yogyakarta on March 23 cannot be justified by
any means. The incident constitutes a serious threat to rule of law in
Indonesia, especially because it occurred inside a state institution at
the heart of the criminal justice system.
Army investigators have announced that 11 commandos from Army’s Special
Forces (Kopassus) Group 2 were behind the raid and the executions. Credit
should go to the Army and to the National Police for launching probes of
the case. However, the initial findings of the Army Military Police are
just the beginning. The perpetrators must be tried under an independent,
transparent, accountable and fair mechanism of justice. Most importantly,
the homicides should be solved in a democratic process.
The Army’s report has left several questions unanswered, including a
claim that the attack was “spontaneous”, which is almost impossible,
given the intense communication among the commandos before and during the
raid; the use of Army-issued weapons in the assault; the specific target
location, Cebongan prison, which is some distance from their base in
Kartasura, Central Java; and the execution of the detainees.
The Army has also given contradictory information related to the attack.
On one hand, investigators said the atrocity was committed after three
commandos returned from training on Mount Lawu in Karanganyar, Central
Java, while eight others joined en route to the prison. On the other
hand, the commander of Kopassus Group 2’s intelligence unit stated that
none of his 800 troops were outside of their barracks when the incident
took place.
Without further explanation, the credibility of both the Army and the
National Police investigation will be at stake. Civil society groups have
urged the President to set up an independent team comprising
representatives of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police,
the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), all to no avail.
In the middle of investigation, the commander of the Diponegoro Military
District overseeing Central Java and Yogyakarta and the Yogyakarta Police
chief were replaced. While TNI headquarters said that the replacement of
its officer was a regular personnel change, the person in the street is
smart enough to make the leap between the transfer and the prison attack.
The general had publicly denied the involvement of TNI members in the
incident just hours after it had occurred.
However, the transfer has raised eyebrows, since Kopassus Group 2 does
not fall under the Diponegoro Military District. If any Army soldier had
to be removed following the incident, it should be the commander of
Kopassus Group 2.
The Army’s team should investigate whether the Kopassus Group 2 commander
was involved or failed to control his soldiers.
Nevertheless, Kopassus chief Maj. Gen. Agus Sutomo stated his readiness
to take full responsibility for the act of violence. This acceptance of
responsibility is rare, especially considering that the legal process
against the commandos has not even started. In a stark contrast, no
senior military officer ever publicly claimed responsibility for the
abduction of student and anti-government activists in 1997-1998 that
allegedly involved Kopassus commandos.
The involvement of 11 commandos in the prison attack has only shown that
ongoing military reforms have not reduced, let alone stopped, acts of
violence perpetrated by TNI members. In other words, reforming the
Indonesian Military is a pressing concern for the nation.
Further, the Cebongan case may just be the tip of the iceberg. There are
potentially many acts of violence involving TNI members that have gone
unreported. Only one month before Cebongan, a group of TNI members
attacked a police station in Ogan Komering Ulu, South Sumatra. The civil
society coalition for security sector reform has recorded more than 80
cases of violence involving the military between 2004 and 2011.
The cases cannot be deemed as individual crimes, because such incidents
have repeatedly occurred. This shows a gap within the TNI system that has
created interstices, either directly or indirectly, allowing some to
commit violent acts. The interstices have occured because of the TNI’s
flawed education system — particularly pertaining to the rule of law, a
misinterpretation of esprit de corps, an entrenched New Order military
culture dominated by nepotism, weak oversight of soldiers and their use
of weapons, the failed restructuring of the territorial command system,
the poor pay and benefits afforded to rank-and-file TNI members and a
military justice system which tends to give minimum sanctions resulting
in a minimal deterrence
effect.
If there is a blessing in disguise following the prison attack, it should
be new momentum for the President and the House of Representatives for
military justice reform. It is therefore of great importance that the
President issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to revise
the 1997 Military Court Laws so that the commandos can be tried in a
civilian district court. While such an amendment was included on the
national legislative agenda for 2004 to 2009, it was never brought for a
vote.
The purpose of the Perppu is to make a clear demarcation between military
and district courts. As suggested by many civil society groups, military
courts should focus on military crimes, while military personnel who
commit general crimes should stand trial in district court.
Revision of the military justice system is an integral part of military
reform as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself has said. Such an
amendment is mandated not only by the TNI Law No. 34/2004, but also the
Constitution, which says all citizens are equal before the law.
The much-awaited completion of the military reform will not happen unless
the military justice system fulfills the constitutional mandate.
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