M

aj. Gen. (ret.) Saurip Kadi made headlines in the past couple of weeks after screening video footage of a mass killing in Mesuji area, Lampung, in front of the House of Representatives’ legal affairs commission.

Saurip and representatives of Mesuji residents told lawmakers of indications of human rights abuses committed by authorities in the killing of villagers following land disputes with plantation companies.

But Saurip has now received extensive criticism because of the video, into which footage of a deadly incident in Thailand was edited, thus distorting the case. His claims of 32 villagers being killed in the Mesuji area since 2008, due to land disputes, also could not be verified.

Although Saurip claimed he was representing the voices of all evicted Mesuji residents, some community leaders have said otherwise.

“We’ve never had any contact with Saurip. The only party we have been cooperating with is the government’s fact-finding team led by Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana,” said Mohammad Ayub, a resident of Tanjung Raya district, Mesuji regency, Lampung, said.

Saurip has repeatedly denied exaggerating the case.

Born in Brebes, Central Java, on Jan. 18, 1951, Saurip graduated from the Military Academy in 1973, the same class as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Great Indonesia Movement Party’s (Gerindra) chief patron Prabowo Subianto and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto.

Starting his career as a military officer in East Java’s Brawijaya Military Command, Saurip entered the country’s political stage for the first time in 1995 when he joined the House of Representatives as a legislator representing the Indonesian Military (TNI) faction.

Leaving the House in 1997, Saurip was assigned to several different positions in the Army headquarters and the Defense Ministry before then president Abdurrahman Wahid promoted him in 2000 to the Army chief’s assistant for territorial affairs.

Saurip, however, was only in the position for several months after then Army chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto removed him, allegedly due to controversy caused by his book TNI: In the Past and Future.

The book mostly depicted scandals within the military institution.

Although he was still a high-ranking Army officer, Saurip was left without any assignment or office at Army headquarters until his retirement in 2008.

After his retirement, Saurip got involved in politics.

Prior to the 2009 general election, a coalition of 13 small parties, including the Reform Star Party, the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and the Labor Party, nominated Saurip as their vice presidential candidate to accompany veteran actor Deddy Mizwar, who they endorsed as presidential candidate.

In the same year, Saurip headed up Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra’s campaign team in his bid in the Golkar Party’s chairmanship election. Tommy, the youngest son of former dictator Soeharto, instead witnessed the victory of businessman Aburizal Bakrie after he failed to secure any votes.

Together with other retired Army generals, Saurip has reportedly joined Aburizal’s campaign team for the upcoming 2014 presidential election.