JAKARTA: Calls are mounting for a public and transparent criminal prosecution of the soldiers suspected in last week’s acid attack on human rights advocate Andrie Yunus, with civil society coalitions slamming the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) plan to handle the case through its internal justice system as “reactive” and potentially perpetuating impunity.
In a statement on Wednesday (March 18), 19 civil society groups, including the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Amnesty International Indonesia and Imparsial, said a case handled internally by the TNI would “diminish the severity and systemic nature” of the attack, as well as risk shielding senior figures from accountability.
“It is already an open secret that the military justice system suffers from impunity issues and often serves as a space to obscure accountability for ordinary crimes involving TNI personnel,” the statement said.
“The coalition believes that the systematic elements and command responsibility behind the attack on Andrie Yunus are unlikely to be revealed through an internal process. On the contrary, such a case would likely be confined to low-level perpetrators,” it continued.
The statement also called for a thorough investigation extending beyond the immediate perpetrators, to include “higher-ranking figures potentially acting as intellectual masterminds”.
Citing early indications, the coalition stressed that the TNI commander, the defence minister and TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) chief must not evade scrutiny in uncovering the attack.
Public outrage has yet to subside a week after the attack on Andrie, a Kontras activist, who was riding his motorcycle in Central Jakarta last Thursday when two unidentified men on another bike hurled acid at him.
Suffering severe burns to his face, right eye, hands and chest, Andrie, whose activism has most notably focused on rising militarism, has since remained in intensive care at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.
Amid mounting calls for a thorough probe and growing scrutiny over the military’s possible involvement, TNI information centre head Maj. Gen. Aulia Dwi Nasrullah said on Tuesday that the case is being handled through the military justice system. He gave an assurance that the process would be conducted transparently, and its findings disclosed to the public.
A day later, Indonesian Military Police Headquarters (Puspom TNI) commander Maj. Gen. Yusri Nuryanto announced that four suspected perpetrators had been arrested, identified only by their initials NDP, SL, BHW and ES. All four are reportedly members of BAIS.
Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid on Thursday told reporters that the acid attack case should remain under police investigation, stressing that civilian law enforcement must retain primary authority over the probe.
Also calling for the establishment of an independent fact-finding team, Usman stressed that any soldiers implicated should be tried in civilian court, citing the post-Reform legal frameworks that place the military under the general justice system for ordinary criminal offenses.
“These frameworks affirm the obligation of TNI members to submit to civilian courts. Newer laws must be applied, not the old ones,” Usman underlined, as quoted by Detik.com.
“Public interest has been the most harmed in Andrie’s case, as the incident occurred in a public setting, causing local residents to be alarmed, intimidated and traumatised. Psychologically, it has instilled fear in many,” he added.
The police, meanwhile, believe that more individuals may have been involved in the attack, including two other suspects identified only as BHC and MAK, who are still on the run.
“We are also analysing other scientific evidence to support the investigation,” Jakarta Police criminal investigation director Senior Commander Iman Imanuddin said on Wednesday, adding that the police and the military would coordinate the findings of their investigations. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
