T

he National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will continue a inquiry into alleged gross human rights violations that occurred in relation to mass murders linked to santet (black magic) in East Java in 1998 and 1999.

Komnas HAM commissioner and research team leader for the case, Muhammad Nurkhoiron, said his team would further update information gathered by a special study team investigating cases of murder, disguised as witch hunts, in East Java in 1998 and 1999, at the investigation level of alleged gross human rights violations.

The research team, formed in October last year, was able to collect facts and data, which indicated that gross human rights violations had taken place in the cases, based on Article 9 of Law No. 26/2000 on human rights trials.

'€œThis is a pre-investigation. We found elements of crimes against humanity that were massive and systematic in nature. And now we are studying whether or not the elements can be proven in the field,'€ Nurkhoiron said in Surabaya on Thursday.

The Komnas HAM team in October and December gathered data and information in the field in Banyuwangi last year and in Surabaya and Jember in February this year.

The team recorded the number of civilian victims of the murders '€” accused of practicing black magic '€” at 119, comprising people hailing from Banyuwangi, Jember, Situbondo, Bondowoso, Pasuruan, Pamekasan and Sampang regencies in East Java.

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Surabaya chapter coordinator Andy Irfan said there was a difference in the number of victims cited by Komnas HAM and Kontras.

Kontras has two versions of data. The version by a Nahdlatul Ulama fact-finding team showed that 147 people were killed in 20 districts in Banyuwangi regency, while a fact-finding team from the Banyuwangi regency administration showed 115 people had been killed.

'€œWe'€™ll coordinate with Komnas HAM. We will study which area we could work on together in the probe,'€ said Andy.

The Komnas HAM team also found evidence of systematic elements in the case, as proven by the presence of a radiogram issued by then Banyuwangi regent HT Purnomo Sidik on Feb. 6, 1998.

The radiogram, addressed to government officials from district to village chiefs, contained a request for them to make an inventory of people with supernatural powers in their respective regions, so they would be protected.

'€œHowever, after the radiogram was issued, murders against civilians instead intensified in villages which submitted the data,'€ said Nurkhoiron.

In its efforts to obtain data, the team also met with officers of the Brawijaya Military Command and the East Java Police, who were reluctant to provide documents relating to the case.

'€œThe Brawijaya Military Command argued the documents had most likely been destroyed, while the East Java Police regarded that incidents before the Reform Era were difficult to open and could spark resistance,'€ said Nurkhoiron.

Komnas HAM expected the public would be supportive of the development in the case and said it would oversee the investigation further.