Monday, October 27, 2014

Breaking News: Gen. Hendropriyono Admits "Command Responsibility" in Munir Assassination. Says Talangsari Victims "Committed Suicide." Agrees to Stand Trial for Atrocities; Legal Implications for As'ad, Wiranto, CIA. Hendropriyono: Part 1.

By Allan Nairn
Jakarta

General A.M. Hendropriyono, one of Indonesia's most powerful figures, has admitted "command responsibility" in the assassination of the country's leading rights activist.


In two nighttime interviews at his Jakarta mansion on October 16 Hendropriyono made statements that appear to open him to prosecution and may create problems for the CIA, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), and for Joko Widodo -- Jokowi -- Indonesia's new president.


Hendropriyono is a key Jokowi adviser, is a core leader of the TNI, and was working with the CIA when his intelligence unit, BIN, killed the activist Munir.


In detailed, on-the-record discussions with me Hendropriyono, perhaps inadvertently, ended up submitting himself to close questioning.


By the time it was over he had abandoned some of his and TNI's longest standing defenses, and had agreed to stand trial for three major atrocities: the Munir murder, the 1999 terror campaign that devastated occupied East Timor, and the 1989 Talangsari massacre that earned him the nickname "the Butcher of Lampung."


Hendropriyono also ended up agreeing that he was calling for the release of all internal documents held by the Indonesian and US governments relating to these cases.


By admitting "command responsibility" and opening to the door to certain facts, Hendropriyono places legal pressure on two men -- the general, Wiranto and the intelligenge man, As'ad -- who have moved to the center stage of Indonesian politics after being touted for the Jokowi cabinet.


The encounter with Hendropriyono was unexpected and at times bizarre.  The first session started with him trying to flatter me, and ended with me telling him that I hoped Munir's killers would be jailed for life.   


In between, the discussion was, at times, complex.  It will be described in several installments.


-----

I had called Hendropriyono's cell phone, from New York, on October 14 hoping that I could get a comment from him on his role in killing civilians.


During last summer's Indonesian presidential campaign that resulted in Jokowi's election, I had repeatedly called for Hendro to be tried for crimes against humanity.  


But what got far more attention, indeed, at times saturation coverage, was my running confrontation with Jokowi's opponent, General Prabowo.  I had published an off-the record interview with Prabowo in which Prabowo ruminated on fascist dictatorship, talked about how to do massacres, discussed his extensive work with the Pentagon/ US Intelligence
, and insulted the highly regarded cleric and late President, Gus Dur.  

Prabowo demanded that the army capture me, called me a liar, an American imperialist, an "enemy of the state," and pointed out -- correctly -- that the TNI had previously captured me seven times and that Suharto had banned me from the country as "a threat to national security."  Responding to Prabowo, TNI declared that I had become an "Operational Target" (TO).


I challenged the army to grab me, challenged Prabowo to bring me to court, and -- on the matter of American Imperialism -- challenged Prabowo to join me in calling for the living US presidents to be put on trial for atrocities, and for the US mining giant, Freeport McMoRan, to be expelled from Indonesia. Prabowo backed down on all fronts and received ridicule, so finally, on the campaign's last day, he filed criminal charges against me.  His aides later explained that among other things the charges related to "inciting hatred of the army," and, after the election results were in, "causing Prabowo to lose."


It was against this background that Hendropriyono, one of the pillars of the Jokowi campaign, indicated that rather than talking on the phone he wanted to talk in person, in Jakarta.  I was heading to Jakarta anyway, and within hours of entering the country, went to Hendro's corner estate in Senayan, Jakarta.


As he entertained a delegation from Malaysian intelligence, and I waited in a sitting room, a member of Hendro's family told me that Jokowi had already offered him three ministries, including MENKOPOLKAM, the top military/ intelligence post.  Relatedly, just that day, Hendro's son-in-law, General Andika, had been announced as the new head of PASAMPRES, Jokowi's personal security detail.  In a cabinet in front of me was a photo of Hendro with Generals Wiranto and Sutiyoso, and to the right a photo of Hendro with his old aide, General Susilo, who later became President.  In between was a bust of Napoleon -- a Hendro favorite, a family member explained.


----


After he ushered me in, Hendro started by saying that he was "honored" to meet and receive me because I had hurt Prabowo in the campaign.  He suggested that Prabowo was "totalitarian."


I replied that I attacked all the generals, including him.  Hendropriyono said he knew that, and said that if he was not mistaken I had attacked him particularly for Talangsari.


I said that was true, but I had attacked him for many things, also including Munir and 1999 Timor.


Hendro wanted to talk about Talangsari first.  


By all accounts -- including Hendro's to me, what had happened there had been a bloodbath, but he started by saying: "There was no other way to do it, Allan Nairn."


He said that as regional commander he controlled both the army and the National Police BRIMOB, and moved in to confront religious militants who were armed with "bows and arrows."


He said "They said I was togut. Togut means extremist who will always finish the Muslims..."


He said of the rifles vs. arrows showdown, "Of course ... we won because we were stronger."


Hendro said: "We encircled the huts that they built in the village together with the villagers.  Nobody was out (of the huts) because of forbidden by their chiefs, by their leaders... I said that 'we will attack you and I ask you to go out from the house and surrender.'"


Then at some point, by Hendro's account -- and that of everyone else -- the encircled huts went up in flames.

Survivors and witnesses say Hendro's men lit the fires, and shot and tortured unarmed villagers. 


Their testimony to the government human rights commission (KOMNASHAM) and to human rights groups like Munir's Kontras is detailed. 

But, to my astonishment, as we sat there in his Jakarta mansion, Hendropriyono said that the dead at Talangsari had actually killed themselves.


"Suddenly they burned their own huts.  That made so many people die," he said. 


(He estimated the death toll at 100, maybe 200, overwhelmingly unarmed, with many women and children)

I asked incredulously, "So you're claiming they killed themselves?"...


"Yes, they burned, they burned their huts."


"In effect you're saying they committed suicide."


"Yes ... 


"Bunuh diri?" ('Committed suicide?'), I asked in Indonesian.


"Bunuh diri" ('Committed suicide'), General Hendropriyono replied.


He suggested they might have done this out of fanaticism.  


I returned to the point, seeking clarity: 


"Jadi, bapak kata bahwa orang itu bunuh diri?" ('So you're saying that those people committed suicide?')


"Bunuh diri," -- suicide, Hendro replied with finality.


So I said: 

"As I'm sure you know, there are many witness testimonies from survivors of Talangsari given to KOMNASHAM and others that say that those hundred or 200 were killed by your troops, were killed by you in a massacre.  So why not face this in a trial?  Would you agree to be put on trial and make the argument in a court like you've just made to me?"


"Yeah, of course it was not true," Hendro replied, skirting the question.

I said: "You could say that in court.  You could tell it to the judge."


But again, Hendro did not want to answer.

Instead, he digressed.  He started with an attack on "the Indonesian human rights organizations," i.e. Munir's Kontras, and similar groups.

Hendro said that the human rights groups had paid off witnesses to implicate him, a charge that was ironic since it had been extensively reported that Hendro himself had made payments to witnesses, for, he said at the time, religious purposes.  

(When I later mentioned Hendro's payoff charge to a table full of Kontras people, they were shocked -- and couldn't stop laughing; "As if we had the cash!," one exclaimed.)

But the thing that most bothered Hendro was the fact that the rights groups, including KOMNASHAM, had agreed to hear testimony from child survivors of Talangsari, ie. from people who were still minors at the time of the inferno.

He was evidently upset that these surviving children had been taken seriously.

They "were still kids," he said.  They "didn't know what was going on."

It was, of course, the case that Talangsari child witnesses were resorted to.  


But this was because Hendro and his men had killed their parents, according to the rights groups. 

And in fact there was testimony from adult survivors as well, and in any event child testimony was often used in such cases.  

In 2013 I was called to testify in a genocide trial in Guatemala.  In the dock was the US-backed ex dictator, General Efrain Rios Montt.

In that case, then-child testimony was used extensively.  Rios Montt was convicted of planned massacres and sentenced to 80 years (the oligarchy later froze the case; the General remains under house arrest.)

General Hendropriyono didn't want such testimony here.


----

But while complaining about the children, General Hendro appeared to slip up.

He himself reopened the issue of possibly being compelled to stand trial.

"I'm quite sure that if we go to court, (the) court will go and look at the witness(es)," he remarked, his point being that the court would disregard the children and false, paid-off witnesses.

So I jumped in: "So then what you're saying is that it should go to court, and you should be put on trial for Talangsari, and you do not fear that, you would accept that?  You would accept being put on trial for Talangsari?"

Hendro, paused, recoiled and mumbled: "I cannot, mmm, I think I have..."


And then he said, incredibly: " If anybody instead of me -- say like yourself -- if you were me at that time I'm quite sure that you would do the same thing."

"No, I would not do the same thing," I replied.  "I would not do the same thing."

"What would you do?  Tell me, what you would do if you were me," the General insisted.

"I would not kill people," I said, but I wanted to get back to the point:

"But I want to make sure I understand what you're saying.  I just want to get a clear understanding of it.  Are you saying that you would accept being put on trial for Talangsari?  And then in the court you would make your arguments and you would bring forth your evidence?"

"Oh yes of course!," Hendropriyono replied.

This appeared to be the breakthrough.

But I wanted to nail it down, and he hedged.

"So you would accept being put on trial for Talangsari?"

"At that time," he replied.

He was referring to 1989, the time of the massacre.

"I'm talking about now," I said. "Because that time has passed. I'm talking about now."

At this point, Hendropriyono's emotional -- and legal -- defenses appeared to break.

"Everything that I did," he said, "everything that they accused me (of), there is nothing for me to prefer not to accept.  I will face."

The breakthrough had indeed happened.  General Hendropriyono had agreed to face trial.

After decades of the TNI -- and himself -- erecting defenses, excuses, for not facing justice, this commanding general -- and CIA partner -- had set a precedent.

"Because everything that I did, I'm not animal, I'm human," he said.

"And you know, I feel, I have children, I have family, and I can feel how they feel.  So to me, I'm responsible for everything that I did and there is nothing that I will refuse.  I understand what you mean.  If there is a court for me for human rights violations, I will accept."

----

This Talangsari back-and-forth set the pattern for our discussion of other atrocities: Hendropriyono reaching -- sometimes deeply implausibly -- to assert that the corpses in question weren't exactly, really, his fault, but at the same time owning up to the fact that, in the end, he had been in charge, and that it was appropriate for he, the senior General, to be placed on trial for murder.

This concession was fundamental, and it opened doors.  

It had particularly significant repercussions for our later discussion regarding Munir.

Repercussions not just for Hendro, but for BIN, As'ad, and the CIA.

End of Hendropriyono: Part 1. 



NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Bloody Hands and a Crucial Victory

As he was in the campaign, Jokowi is, in government, surrounded by killers.  

He could have kept them all out, but he chose not to.  

The blood on their hands is now on his.  

But that does not necessarily mean that the killers will, in the end, prevail. 


(Though it is quite possible that they will kill more civilians in the meantime).  

This is an epic struggle for power.  

If people put pressure on Jokowi there's a decent chance they can win concessions.

Indeed that has apparently happened already, in a crucially important way.  

As of noon Friday, General Wiranto had been written in as MENKOPOLKAM, a coordinating post that in the hands of a man like him could have given him vast de facto power over the army, police, and intelligence.

But according to very high level people, Wiranto was removed at the last minute -- Saturday night -- specifically in response to objections from mobilized critics/ activists. (See Friday - Sunday blog entries and Tweets at @AllanNairn14).

At the same time, though, Jokowi gave power to General Ryamizard, the TNI's ideologist for killing civilians
, a man who oversaw Aceh massacres and praised the army assassins of a Papua leader as "heroes."

The chief of BIN (intelligence) was not announced Sunday with the cabinet posts, but As'ad, implicated in the Munir assassination, is said to still be in the running.


Allan Nairn



NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Lembaga Negara Mendesak Jokowi Tidak Memasukkan Pembunuh ke Kabinet

25 Oktober 2014

Komnas HAM telah menyerahkan daftar 174 nama bertanda merah yang terkait kasus Hak Asasi Manusia kepada Presiden Jokowi.

Nama-nama ini terdiri dari para pejabat (bekas atau masih menjabat) yang terlibat dalam pembunuhan, penculikan atau kejahatan-kejahatan serupa. (Komnas HAM jelas menyiratkan bahwa Jen. Wiranto dan Jen. Hendropriyono tercatat dalam daftar tersebut). 

Komnas HAM meminta agar Presiden Jokowi tidak memasukkan seorangpun dari daftar nama itu ke dalam kabinetnya. 

Jokowi menggunakan data KPK guna mendiskualifikasi calon-calon yang bermasalah. 

Apakah ia akan melakukan hal yang sama dengan daftar yang telah dibuat Komnas HAM?

Jika tidak, maka pemerintahan Jokowi seolah akan lebih mementingkan kasus-kasus pencurian uang ketimbang pembunuhan tak berperikemanusiaan. 

Allan Nairn


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A Government Body Asks Jokowi to Exclude Murderers from the Cabinet.

The Indonesian government human rights commission, KOMNASHAM, has submitted to President Jokowi a list of 174 people who have their own human rights red marks ("tanda merah").

These are current or ex officials implicated in massacre, abduction or similar crimes.  (The commissioners strongly implied that Gens. Wiranto and Hendropriyono were among them).

The commission asked President Jokowi not to appoint any of them to his cabinet.  

Jokowi used the anti-corruption commission (KPK) data to disqualify cabinet candidates.

Will he do the same with the human rights commission list?

If he doesn't, that will show that the Jokowi government acts as if the unlawful taking of lives is less important than the unlawful taking of money.

Allan Nairn



NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Friday, October 24, 2014

A Question for President Jokowi

A question for President Jokowi: How many civilians does a general have to kill before he becomes ineligible for your Clean Cabinet?

Allan Nairn

NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Breaking News: Jokowi siap memasukkan para jenderal pembantai massal Wiranto dan Ryamizard ke kabinet

24 Oktober 2014

Breaking News: seorang jenderal dekat Kubu Jokowi, mengatakan kepada saya siang ini (24 Oktober, 12:15 WIB) bahwa Jokowi siap mengumumkan Jenderal Wiranto dan Jenderal Ryamizard sebagai anggota kabinet. 

Jokowi selalu mengatakan, ia ingin kabinet yang bersih. Namun sepertinya, ia mempertimbangkan untuk menunjuk seorang jenderal yang telah didakwa melakukan kejahatan kemanusiaan (Wiranto). Seorang jenderal lain yang dipertimbangkan adalah Ryamizard, yang memimpin pembantaian di Aceh serta secara terbuka menyasar warga sipil sepanjang Darurat Militer.


Jika ini benar, Jokowi akan dituntut pertanggungjawabannya atas kejahatan-kejahatan mereka. 


Allan Nairn


Lihat:

UN Indictment of Wiranto for "Crimes Against Humanity: Murder, Deportation and Persecution"

"Wiranto: Case No. #5/2003, Brief in Support of the Application for the Issuance of an Arrest Warrant for Wiranto" (District Court of Dili)

"Red Marks Next to Their Names: Is Jokowi Serious About Being Clean?"
"Tanda Merah Calon Menteri: Apakah Jokowi Sungguh-Sungguh Ingin Membangun Kabinet Bersih?"

"General Ryamizard: The Ideologist for Killing Civilians"
"Jenderal Ryamizard: Sang Ideolog Pembantaian Warga Sipil,"

Kompas: "Jurnalis Investigasi Allan Nairn Ingatkan Jokowi Jangan Pilih Menteri Pelanggar HAM"
(2014/10/22)


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The "Brief in Support of ... the Issuance of an Arrest Warrant for Wiranto"



NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

The Indictment of Gen. Wiranto









NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Breaking News: Jokowi Said Ready to Name Massacre Generals to Cabinet. Gens. Wiranto, Ryamizard in Running.

A well-informed general said to me this afternoon (October 24, 12:15 pm WIB) that President Jokowi is on the verge of naming Gens. Wiranto and Ryamizard to his cabinet.

Jokowi says he wants a clean cabinet, yet he is supposedly considering appointing a man under indictment for crimes against humanity (Wiranto), and another who presided over Aceh massacres and openly targeted civilians (Ryamizard).

If this is true Jokowi will become accountable for their crimes.

Allan Nairn

See:

UN Indictment of Wiranto for "Crimes Against Humanity: Murder, Deportation and Persecution"

"Wiranto: Case No. #5/2003, Brief in Support of the Application for the Issuance of an Arrest Warrant for Wiranto" (District Court of Dili)

"Red Marks Next to Their Names: Is Jokowi Serious About Being Clean?"
"Tanda Merah Calon Menteri: Apakah Jokowi Sungguh-Sungguh Ingin Membangun Kabinet Bersih?"

"General Ryamizard: The Ideologist for Killing Civilians"
"Jenderal Ryamizard: Sang Ideolog Pembantaian Warga Sipil,"

Kompas: "Jurnalis Investigasi Allan Nairn Ingatkan Jokowi Jangan Pilih Menteri Pelanggar HAM"
(2014/10/22)



NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Jenderal Ryamizard: Sang Ideolog Pembantaian Warga Sipil

23 Oktober 2014

Salah seorang pendukung kunci Jokowi yang muncul di Istana Negara hari selasa lalu adalah mantan Kepala Staf Angkatan Darat,  Jenderal Ryamizard Ryacudu. 

Ryamizard adalah orang kepercayaan Megawati, pimpinan partai Jokowi. Ryamizard pernah membantu menaikkan Mega ke kursi presiden dengan turut serta menyingkirkan pendahulunya, presiden Gus Dur. 

Satu hal yang paling menonjol dari Ryamizard: di tubuh TNI, dialah sosok terdepan dalam merasionalisasikan pembantaian warga sipil.

Di bulan Oktober 2004, saya menulis laporan terkait pasukan Ryamizard di Aceh:

"Minggu lalu Amnesty International mengeluarkan laporan tentang Aceh yang mencatat bahwa 'pelanggaran hak asasi manusia ... begitu luas sampai-sampai tak satu pun aspek kehidupan di provinsi tersebut yang tak terjamah.'  ... Amnesty berbicara tentang 'eksekusi ekstra-yudisial warga sipil oleh militer' yang terjadi baru-baru ini--jumlahnya ratusan, kata para aktivis setempat secara terpisah--termasuk, menurut Amnesty, 'aksi pembunuhan di luar batas-batas hukum, terhadap perempuan dan anak-anak.'" 

Ketika ditanya tentang salah satu pembantaian—pembantaian terhadap anak-anak di dekat Bireuen, Aceh—Ryamizard menjawab dengan sebuah lelucon tentang pisang goreng dan diam-diam membela aksi tersebut, mengatakan bahwa perempuan dan anak-anak pun bisa membunuh.

Pernyataan itu mungkin terdengar menjijikan, namun belum ada apa-apanya jika dibandingkan dengan penyataan publik—dikutip Antara (8 Desember 2003)--dimana Ryamizard mengatakan bahwa warga sipil sah menjadi sasaran tentara jika mereka "tidak menyukai " kebijakan militer atau menyuarakan “pendapat yang sama” dengan para pemberontak anti-pemerintah.

Ketika membicarakan warga sipil yang tidak senang dengan kondisi Darurat Militer, sesungguhnya Ryamizard mengklarifikasi definisi TNI mengenai apa saja yang bisa membuat seseorang dikategorisasikan sebagai musuh.

Ia menunjukkan bahwa siapapun yang “tidak senang” seperti itu akan didefinisikan oleh TNI sebagai "GAM"--atau anggota Gerakan Aceh Merdeka.

"Orang-orang yang tidak senang dengan darurat militer di Aceh adalah orang GAM," kata Jenderal Ryamizard, "Jadi jika omongannya sama dengan anggota GAM, maka dapat dipastikan mereka  adiknya orang-orang separatis itu."

Kategorisasi ini sangat penting karena secara resmi pendekatan  TNI terhadap GAM adalah "buru dan musnahkan”, seperti yang diambil dari kata-kata Jendral Endriartono pada Mei 2003, dikutip oleh Amnesty International.

Kini operasi militer di Aceh sudah berakhir, namun pembunuhan warga sipil terus terjadi di Papua dan di tempat-tempat lainnya. Sejauh yang bisa diketahui, doktrin Ryamizard masih berlaku.

Jika Jokowi ingin mengakhiri praktek pembunuhan--atau pemenjaraan--terhadap rakyat hanya karena negara tidak menyukai pendapat mereka, sudah sepantasnya ia menyeret jenderal-jenderal seperti Ryamizard ke meja hijau, bukannya malah memberikan jabatan yang lebih tinggi.

Allan Nairn


Untuk laporan Antara yang mengutip pernyataan Ryamizard tentang orang-orang yang tidak suka dengan Darurat Militer, lihat Laksamana.Net, 8 Desember 2003, 8:00am, "Gen. Ryamizard 'With Us or Against Us'" dapat diakses di JoyoNews.org .

Untuk kutipan tentang pisang goreng, dan pembunuhan anak-anak dan perempuan, lihat majalah Time, 2 Juni 2003 , dan artikel saya tanggal 21 Oktober 2014 "Tanda Merah Calon Menteri: Apakah Jokowi Sungguh-Sungguh Membangun Kabinet Bersih?" Versi Bahasa Inggris:  "Red Marks Next to Their Names: Is Jokowi Serious About Being Clean?"



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General Ryamizard: The Ideologist for Killing Civilians

One of the key Jokowi supporters who turned up at the Palace on Tuesday is General Ryamizard Ryacudu, Indonesia's former army chief.

Ryamizard is a confidant of Jokowi's party leader, Megawati, whom he helped to make president by helping oust her predecessor, Gus Dur.

But Ryamizard's most important distinction is that, within the armed forces (TNI), he has been a leader in rationalizing the mass killing of civilans.

In October, 2004 I reported regarding Ryamizard's army in Aceh:

 "Last week Amnesty International released a report on Aceh noting that 'human rights abuses ... are so pervasive that there is virtually no part of life in the province which remains untouched.' … They spoke of recent 'extrajudicial executions of civilians by the military' -- local activists say hundreds of them -- including 'the unlawful killing of women and children.'"  

When Ryamizard was asked about one of those massacres -- of children, near Bireuen, Aceh, he replied with a joke about fried bananas and tacitly defended the action, saying that women and kids could be killers too. 

As revolting as that statement might have been it was actually less significant than another public declaration -- quoted by Antara, the state press agency (December 8, 2003) -- in which Ryamizard said that civilians become legitimate army targets if they "dislike" army policy or have "the same voice" as anti-government rebels.

Ryamizard clarified the army's definition of what makes a person an enemy when speaking of civilians who were unhappy with the state of siege.

He indicated that anyone who had such feelings would be defined by the army as "GAM," i.e. a member of the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, the Aceh Freedom Movement.

"People who dislike the military emergency in Aceh are GAM members," Gen. Ryamizard said, "So if they have the same voice as GAM members, this will mean that they are the younger brothers of the separatist movement."  

This categorization was hugely significant since the official approach to GAM was: "hunt them down and exterminate them," in the words of the armed forces commander (Gen. Endriartono, May, 2003, quoted by Amnesty).  

Today, the operation in Aceh is over, but killings of civilians continue in Papua and elsewhere, and, as far as one can tell, the Ryamizard doctrine continues in place.

If Jokowi wants to end the practice of killing -- or jailing -- people because the state doesn't like their opinions, he should put generals like Ryamizard on trial, not in higher office


Allan Nairn


For the Antara report quoting Ryamizard on people who dislike the state-of-siege being GAM see Laksamana.Net, December 8, 2003, 8:00am, "Gen. Ryamizard 'With Us or Against Us' Ryacudu," available on JoyoNews.org .

For the fried bananas/ killing-women-and-children quotes see Time magazine, June 2, 2003 , and my October 21, 2014 piece "Red Marks Next to Their Names: Is Jokowi Serious About Being Clean?").




NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tanda Merah Calon Menteri: Apakah Jokowi Sungguh-Sungguh Ingin Membangun Kabinet Bersih?

Selasa, 21 Oktober 2014

Presiden Jokowi telah menerima laporan dari Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) yang menempatkan tanda merah di samping sejumlah nama calon menteri kabinetnya. 


Tanda merah mengacu pada bukti korupsi uang. 


Sudah seharusnya tanda ini membuat sejumlah calon tersebut tersingkir dari daftar kabinet Jokowi. 


Mereka mengatakan, Jokowi ingin menyusun "Kabinet Bersih."


Namun jika sang presiden bersungguh-sungguh dengan niat kabinet bersih itu, sudah selayaknya ia membuka mata untuk tanda merah yang lebih penting: tanda merah yang bersumber dari aktivitas-aktivitas terkait pembunuhan warga sipil, mulai dari justifikasi atas pembunuhan yang dilakukan negara hingga tindakan membunuh itu sendiri.


Jenderal A.M Hendropriyono, yang menemui Jokowi di Istana Negara hari ini, terlibat dalam pembantaian berskala besar (di Talangsari), kampanye pembersihan dan teror yang tergolong dalam kejahatan perang (Timor Timur tahun 1999), serta pembunuhan pahlawan Hak Asasi Manusia, Munir.  
Dalam masing-masing kasus, namanya telah diajukan untuk diproses secara pidana. Namun, Hendropriyono selalu berhasil mengelak.

As'ad, tangan kanan Hendropriyono di BIN, juga terlibat  pembunuhan, sebagaimana disebutkan oleh sebuah kesaksian di pengadilan yang menyatakan bahwa As'ad  turun langsung mengatur agar pelaku pembunuhan berada di dekat Munir.  
Keterangan-keterangan dari polisi yang bersumber dari pernyataan-pernyataan orang-orang intelijen yang bekerja untuk Hendro dan As'ad juga menegaskan bahwa As'ad hadir dalam rapat yang dipimpin oleh Hendro, di mana mereka merencanakan pembunuhan Munir.

Oleh jaksa penuntut yang disponsori PBB, Jenderal Wiranto didakwa untuk keterlibatannya dalam operasi pembantaian, pemerkosaan, dan kampanye pembumihangusan di Timor Timur pada tahun 1999. Tahun sebelumnya, sebuah aksi protes pro-demokrasi besar-besaran berhasil ia gagalkan. Waktu itu, rangkaian demontrasi yang mencapai klimaksnya batal setelah Wiranto mengancam akan "men-Tiananmen-kan" para demonstran 


Jenderal Ryamizard memainkan peran kunci dalam kudeta de facto terhadap Presiden Gus Dur di tahun 2001. Ia mengawasi dan memberi instruksi selama operasi-operasi militer di Aceh yang melibatkan pembantaian massal terhadap warga sipil. Tak lupa, para tentara yang membunuh Theys Eluay (pemimpin gerakan sipil Papua) dijuluki Ryamizard sebagai "pahlawan." Menanggapi pertanyaan pers tentang pembantaian anak-anak di Aceh, Ryamizard mengatakan bahwa perempuan dan anak-anak bisa sama  berbahayanya. Dalam berbagai kesempatan ia mengatakan: "Kalau saya menyuruh orang membeli pisang goreng dan orang itu malah tertangkap basah mencuri pisang goreng atau mencuri uang untuk beli pisang goreng, apakah saya juga ikut-ikutan dihukum?" 
(Time magazine, June 2, 2003 issue).

Orang-orang ini (dan banyak lagi yang seperti mereka) dekat dengan Jokowi dan/atau partainya. 
Mereka adalah calon yang kekuatannya melampaui kekuasaan yang telah mereka genggam selama ini.

Apakah Jokowi akan menyeret mereka ke pengadilan, atau Jokowi akan mendudukkan mereka di Istana? Atau, akankah Jokowi memberikan jabatan kepada para perwakilan mereka?  

Jika sang presiden melindungi atau mempromosikan pembunuh, akan ada tanda merah di samping nama Jokowi. 


Allan Nairn




NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Red Marks Next to Their Names: Is Jokowi Serious About Being Clean?

President Jokowi has received a report from the Indonesian anti-corruption commission that places "red marks" next to the names of some of his prospective cabinet ministers.

The red marks are said to signify evidence of money corruption.

That supposedly disqualifies them in Jokowi's eyes.

They say he wants to build a "Clean Cabinet."

But if the president is serious about being clean, he should open his eyes to a more important red mark: the kind that comes from killing civilians, from justifying and committing state murder.

General A.M. Hendropriyono, who visited Jokowi at the palace today, has been implicated in a major massacre (Talangsari), a terror and cleansing campaign that constituted a war crime (Timor '99), and the assassination of the human rights hero Munir.  In each case he was referred for criminal prosecution but escaped.

Hendropriyono's chief aide, As'ad, was also implicated in the assassination by court testimony stating that he personally placed the killer close to Munir, and by statements to the police by intelligence men who worked for Hendro and As'ad asserting that As'ad was at a meeting chaired by Hendro where they planned the murder.

General Wiranto is under indictment by a UN-sponsored prosecutor for the massacre, rape, and arson campaign in East Timor in 1999.  The previous year he nipped the pro-democracy uprising in the bud when he got a climactic demonstration cancelled after threatening "a Tienanmen."

General Ryamizard played a key role in the 2001 de facto coup against President Gus Dur, oversaw operations in Aceh that involved mass killings of civilians, praised as "heroes" the army assassins of the Papuan civilian leader Theys Eluay, and responded to a press question about an Aceh massacre of children by saying that women and children can be dangerous too and that, in any event: "If I send someone out to buy fried bananas and that person gets caught stealing them, or stealing money to buy them, should I also be punished?" (Time magazine, June 2, 2003 issue).

These men (and others like them) are close to Jokowi or his party and are candidates for further power.

Will Jokowi put them on trial or in the palace?  Will he put their proxies in office?

If the president shields or promotes murderers, there will be a red mark next to the name Jokowi.


Allan Nairn




NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me