Serious human right violations happen in Pasuruan incident

Jakarta, NU Online
The physical clash between marines and civilian residents at Alas Tlogo, Pasuruan, East Java, last May 30 was marked by serious human right violations, Indonesia`s human righta watchdog said.

"What happened (in Alas Tlogo) was a breach of the law which caused serious human right violations," National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said here Friday as quoted by Antara news agency.<>

He said a study and analysis of the many statements, testimonies, reports and findings in the field collected by a Pasuruan Incident Monitoring Team had led to the conclusion that serious human right violations were committed in the affair.

During the clash , a breach of the law had happened because it caused a number of people to lose their right to life. According to data the commission had gathered , four people lost their right to life, namely Mistin (25), Dewi Khadijah (20), Sutam (40) and Rohmat (23).

To the commission, taking a person`s right to life is a serious human right violation because under whatever circumstances , the right to life cannot be reduced as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution, the Human Rights Law and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 which Indonesia ratified in 2005.

In addition, Hakim said, marines in the incident also subjected civilians to cruel and inhumane acts.

The cruel and inhumane treatment inflicted wounds on the bodies of eight civilian residents, namely Chairul (3) who sustained a gunshot wound in the chest, Misdi (42) who was injured in the right leg and right hip, Abdul Rohman (30) who suffered a gunshot wound on the right hand, Nasum (34) who was shot in the right leg.

Other victims were Satiran (50) who suffered a gunshot wound on the back of his head,, Hermanto (22) who was hit by a bullet in the hip, Tosan (35) who was injured by a bullet in his right templs, and Asmat (40) whose upper jaw was hit by bullet fragments.

The commission had also found violations of the right to a sense of security of Samad, Munaji and Saiful who were taken hostage at gunpoint.

Hakim said the commission had urged the Navy`s military police to handle the case in a transparent way and the National Defense Forces (TNI) and the government to bear all costs of the burial of the dead victims and the medical treatment of wounded victims.

The government must also pay compensation to the victims and their families, and the TNI should allow the civilians living on the disputed land to remain there until the dispute is settled, Hakim said. (dar)