LtCol (Engineering Corps) Lilik Kushadiyanto (Kushardiyanto)
Acting district military commander of Covalima, based in Suai (Komandan Kodim 1635)
LtCol Lilik Kushadiyanto was appointed by Udayana commander MajGen Adam Damiri to the Suai command on 29 August 1999, just a day before the ballot, taking over from LtCol Ahmad Masagus. He was removed on 8 September 1999, two days after the massacre at the Suai church. The Suai church massacre of 6 September 1999 was directed by soldiers under his command (see Lt Sugito). The timing suggests he may have been sent to Suai for the express purpose of dealing with the refugees in the church. During his nine day stint as district military commander of Covalima he retained his position as chief of intelligence staff in the Bali-based Udayana regional military command that covers East Timor.
Rui Lopes, a militia leader in Suai, told a private television station in Jakarta on 12 September 1999 that the day before the ballot result was announced he had taken part in a district level meeting at the house of the district head (bupati) in Covalima. He said the district head (Col Herman Sediono) and the district military commander (Lilik Kushadiyanto?) were present and conveyed orders that the militias were to burn down Covalima, drive Unamet out, and drive all the local residents into West Timor. This is precisely what happened.
LtCol Lilik Kushadiyanto was present and participated personally in the massacre in Suai church on 6 September 1999, according to the Dili indictment against him.
Soon after the Indonesian pull-out from East Timor, he returned to his intelligence post in Bali, from whence he assisted the newly installed martial law administrator MajGen Kiki Syahnakri, regarded as among the architects of the army's East Timor strategy. In September 2000 his lawyers said in his defence that his appointment as Suai commander had never been formalised, but Attorney General's Department officers have implied that his actions in Suai may have been part of his intelligence role.
Together with four other defendants (Herman Sediono, Gatot Subiaktoro, Ahmad Syamsuddin, and Sugito) Lilik Kushadiyanto was indicted for crimes against humanity before the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in Indonesia on 20 February 2002. All were indicted for failing to prevent their subordinates from carrying out the Suai church massacre on 6 September 1999. Among those subordinates were Laksaur and Mahidi militia leaders, soldiers and policemen. The Indonesian indictment said Lilik Kushadiyanto was responsible for 'operational organisation, equipment and training' for the militia forces. However, after a trial criticised outside Indonesia for failing to address the evidence, all were acquitted on 15 August 2002.
On 8 April 2003 LtCol Lilik Kushadiyanto was indicted in absentia for crimes against humanity before the special panel in Dili. Altogether 16 members of the Indonesian security forces were indicted at this time over numerous abuses in Covalima district throughout 1999, including the Suai massacre. The 15 army personnel and one police officer indicted were:
- Col Herman Sediono, Covalima district chief
- LtCol Ahmad Masagus (spelled Achmad Mas Agus), military district commander most of the year
- LtCol Lilik Kushadiyanto, briefly military district commander
- LtCol (Pol) Gatot Subiaktoro, police district chief
- Capt Ahmad Syamsuddin, military district chief of staff
- Lt Sugito, subdistrict commander at Suai (danramil 1635-01)
- Lt Widodo, subdistrict commander at Tilomar (danramil 1635-02)
- Lt Ari, a commander in Battalion 143 (see LtCol Saripudin)
- Sgt Harun Tateny, subdistrict commander at Fatululik (danramil 1635-05)
- Sgt Supoyo, stationed at Salele within the Tilomar subdistrict command
- Simao Nahak,
- Raul Halek,
- Americo Seran,
- Julio Borges, milsas commander at Fohorem subdistrict command
- Leonito Cardoso,
- Anito Lau, milsas member at Fohorem subdistrict command
The indictment details 31 separate counts involving about 50 murders (not counting the Suai church massacre), about 50 individuals tortured or otherwise wounded, and about ten individuals disappeared or abducted. Always the Laksaur militia acted in concert with the military and under their direction. Fourteen Laksaur militia members were indicted separately in Dili for the same abuses (see Igidio Manek). Members of the district police force joined in a few incidents. Most took place in April and September 1999.
Lilik Kushadiyanto played a liaison role with Interfet troops on the border with East Timor in November 1999.
Born in Madiun, East Java, on 18 November 1952, Lilik Kushadiyanto graduated from the military academy in 1976. He is an army engineer (zeni).
