Court overrules lawsuit of human-rights-violated victims

The Central Jakarta District Court finalized its verdict Wednesday (Feb. 28) on compensations for victims of the Tanjung Priok bloodshed and heirs.

Sole judge Martina Mardja said the 13 plaintiffs -- consisting of victims of the incident and relatives of deceased victims -- did not have a legal base for any claims. Therefore, the court must decline their appeal.

"Based on similar verdicts in a criminal case at the Jakarta High and the Supreme Courts previously, this court overrules the plaintiffs’ lawsuit," she said.

"In addition, the evidence displayed by the plaintiffs was not relevant," she added.

The judge also obliged the plaintiffs to pay the court cost of Rp 300,000 (US$33).

Earlier, the Ad Hoc sessions of the Human Rights Court in Central Jakarta had sentenced 11 military officers, who belonged to a troop of the North Jakarta Military Commander, to up to a five-year prison terms on Aug. 20, 2004. They were found guilty to have severely violated human rights and been involved in the Tanjung Priok massacre, in which hundreds of Muslims were slaughtered.

The verdict also demanded that the government pay 13 victims and their heirs compensations, totaling more than Rp 1.015 billion (US$113 million) for material and immaterial funds.

Those convicted then appealed to the Jakarta High and the Supreme Courts.

The Supreme Court finally granted the appeal and handed down its verdict on Feb. 26, 2006, saying the convicts were not violating human rights, but "the Supreme Court did not decline the fact of the incident taking place and did not annul the Human Rights Court's verdict on compensations".

Lawyers, representing 13 victims of the massacre, filed a civil lawsuit on Jan 31, 2007, demanding that the country pay the required compensations.

After failing the civil case in the Central Jakarta District Court, the lawyers planned to appeal to the Jakarta High Court within two weeks.

"Shamefully, the judge doesn't comprehend about the compensation terminology in human rights cases," lawyer Haris Azhar said after the trial.

Martini is a judge in the Corruption Court, who was authorized to try the civil case of Tanjung Priok.

"She did not take the humanity point of view and the losses of the victims into account," Haris added.

Victims cried outside the court. They regarded the court was "inhumane and unfair".

Raharja, who was one of the plaintiffs, told journalists: "Even foolish ones know that a settlement of the dispute outside a court was a proof that there had been a human rights violation."

Another victim, Irta Sumirta, who had been imprisoned "for involving in against the government at the time", said: "My family was even forced to sell the house only to set me free. Instead of being free, the requirement was a lie."

Victim Aminatun said that after the incident, she faced social issues even more.

"My children have no longer gone to school ever since. I now live in a rented house without furnitures. Moreover, my neighbors see me as a communist," she said.

The Study and Information Development Center (PSPI) had reconstructed the fact of the incident, with taking views from many sources.

It said in its book, Tanjung Priok Berdarah (Bloody Tanjung Priok), the incident began when serg. Hermanu stepped in a Tanjung Priok mosque, wearing shoes. He tried to tear off announcements of a social routine meeting and flushed them with water from gutters.

His action had drawn angers among local residents. The angers surged when he did not confessed to his deed.

Four unknown people, "who was believed to have ignited a chaos", burned out Hermanu motorcycle, which in turn caused "four innocent local residents" to be jailed.

The capture of the four brought up a thousand of residents on Sept 12, 1984, in a march, demanding the authority release them. The authority, however, declined the demand.

PSPI questioned the reason for not releasing the four, which it said the authority would have no losses upon the release.

Hundreds of the protesting residents then were shot by "only 10 officers, in efforts to calm down the situation".

PSPI believed former Jakarta Military Commander may. gen. Try Sutrisno and deceased Indonesian Military chief gen. L.B. Moerdani were responsible for "the cleaning", as they arrived 30 minutes after the bloodshed.

Many of residents, who survived the incident, were imprisoned afterwards for "reportedly driving the protesting herd". Those trying to reveal the fact behind the incident were also imprisoned.

Victims of the incident and heirs "were offered to have a settlement, granted with money and vehicles".