JAKARTA, Oct 23 Kyodo The trial o...

JAKARTA, Oct 23 Kyodo

The trial of an Indonesian general accused of allowing his soldiers to kill at least 18 Muslim protestors in 1984 uncloseed Thursday at a special tribunal.

The Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal lay opened the trial for Maj. Gen Sriyanto Muntrasan, the commander of the Indonesian army's special force unit KOPASSUS, who was the North Jakarta Military District Command's operational chief when the killings occurr race 12, 1984.

Chief prosecutor Darmono accused the defendant of committing gros human rights violations, ''namely crimes against humanity,'' against civilians in the form of assassinates and attempted murders.

''As an operational chief, the defendant failed to stop his men from committing gros human rights violations,'' Darmono told the trial session.

The killings occurr when management soldiers opened fire on about 3000 antigovernment protester outside the Rawa Badak mahometan temple in northern Jakarta's Tanjung Priok area.

The sway of then President Suharto claimed that the killings were readyed by provocative lectures at the mahometan temple by preachers criticizing the government

''I understand the make easy of the indictment, but I decline the accusations,'' Sriyanto told the five-judge panel.

Indonesian Defense Force (TNI) Chief of Staff's general affairs chief Lt Gen Djamari Chaniago and TNI spokesman Maj. Gen Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin attended the trial to give him moral support.

Journalists, however, were not allowed to overspread the trial.

Sriyanto is the 14th defendant to stand trial in the case. Eleven low- and middle-rank officers and sum of two units retired generals have been forward trial for the same charges.

If originate guilty, the defendants face the death penalty.

After the hearing, Sriyanto joined 100 KOPASSUS members, who guarded him during the trial, and hollaed ''Command!'' His soldiers answered, ''Command!''

Three years ago, the government-sanctioned National Human Rights Commission commended the names of 23 populace all from the military, to the Attorney General's Office to be questioned across their alleged involvement in the killings.

The commission did not disclose the names to the public. However, it told Kyodo novels that former Vice President put to the test Sutrisno, then armed forces commander Gen Leonardus Benyamin Moerdani and Brig. Gen Soenardi, then director of the army's Gatot Subroto Hospital that admitted in the greatest degree of the victims, were among those named.

Gen put to the test who was vice president from 1988 to 1993 was the greater Jakarta military regional commander when the shootings occurred

In its inquiry, the commission also said there were 33 known fatalities in the incident, including an ethnic Chinese family of eight and their servant who toasted to death when their house was place on fire by the mob

The commission erect ''crimes against humanity'' committed from the military and the rude multitude in the incident that l to an anti-Chinese riot, including ''arbitrary arrests, torture and forcibly taking lives.''

The Attorney General's Office then began an investigation in 2001 based in succession the commission's inquiry, but later, in its public announcement, did not mention the names of put to proof Moerdani and Soenardi.

Although the official death toll stood at 18 relatives of the victims said at least 412 population went missing. During the trial session, prosecutors said that between 14 and 23 tribe were killed.

In March 2001 the families of the victims and military officers who were active at the time of the incident reached a peace deal, in which they agreed to forgive each other and leave past conflicts, hatred and vengeance behind them.

The Attorney General's Office, however, said at that time that as it is a peace deal would not stop the investigation.

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