11 soldiers arrested for murder<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces said on Monday that it
\narrested 11 soldiers for torturing to death four alleged
\nseparatist rebels in Aceh on Saturday, while condemnation of the
\nbrutality came strong and fast.<\/p>\n
Lilawangsa Military Commander Col. Johnny Wahab told The
\nJakarta Post from the North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe that the
\nlocal military police were still questioning 19 other troops over
\ntheir alleged involvement in the deaths and in the torture of 21
\nother civilians.<\/p>\n
\"These (troops) allowed their emotions to run free... they
\ncommitted an evil and savage act,\" Johnny said, admitting the
\nlatest incident would further tarnish the image of the Armed
\nForces (ABRI).<\/p>\n
Johnny said the 25 victims were among 40 people detained by
\npolice and troops in the Wibawa Operation's raid on alleged
\nseparatist targets in the village of Kandang, some two kilometers
\nsouth of Lhokseumawe, in an attempt to capture Acehnese
\nseparatist leader Ahmad Kandang on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"The 21 other (victims) suffered injuries, including two who
\nare still in comas. They were beaten with bare hands, shoes and
\nother objects,\" Johnny said.<\/p>\n
Earlier reports said that the troops tortured the Acehnese,
\nwho were being detained in the building of the local chapter of
\nthe Indonesian Youth Committee, when the military police who were
\nguarding the detainees left for their evening prayers.<\/p>\n
Johnny said the troops allegedly involved in the torture were
\nfrom Battalion 111, Battalion 113 Jayasakti, the Guided Missile
\nDetachment and the Lilawangsa Military Command.<\/p>\n
Local residents and human rights activists said that most of
\nthe human rights violations which occurred during a decade-long
\nmilitary operation to quash the separatist movement in the
\nprovince took place in North Aceh, East Aceh and the Pidie
\nregencies, which all fell under the supervision of the Lilawangsa
\nMilitary Command.<\/p>\n
Prior to Saturday's incident, military raids on alleged
\nseparatist targets in North Aceh on Jan. 3 claimed at least 11
\nlives, with 32 more people being injured.<\/p>\n
The military has said that Ahmad was hiding in the village of
\nKandang under the protection of the villagers.<\/p>\n
The military accused Ahmad, who reportedly managed to flee the
\nvillage on Saturday, of being behind the killing of seven off-
\nduty soldiers in Lhok Nibung and the kidnapping of two marines in
\nthe North Aceh district of Muara Dua last month.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Munir, from the independent Commission for Missing
\nPersons and Victims of Violence, condemned the incident on Monday
\nsaying that it would only open old wounds for the Acehnese.<\/p>\n
\"The increasing number of civilians who have been killed in
\nthe last 10 days shows that the (Wibawa) operation is not a
\nsolution to the Aceh question.\"<\/p>\n
\"The operation only causes new problems for the people, opens
\nold wounds and revives the potential for the kind of state-
\nsanctioned violence which overwhelmed Aceh during the military
\noperations,\" Munir stated.<\/p>\n
Munir reiterated that the Wibawa Operation must be halted to
\navoid further violence in the province.<\/p>\n
\"ABRI must find more democratic steps to solve the existing
\nproblems in Aceh,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists have said that the current outbreak of
\nviolence in the province was due to past human rights violations
\nwhich remain unresolved.<\/p>\n
The activists have demanded that the alleged perpetrators of
\nhuman rights violations be put on trial.<\/p>\n
ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto has so far only expressed his
\napologies for military atrocities in the province, saying that
\nthey had \"exceeded acceptable norms\".<\/p>\n
\"ABRI's current violence against the Acehnese have made people
\nangry... ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto's claim that the killing
\nof the seven soldiers was a brutal and gross violation of human
\nrights was an exaggeration; that was nothing compared to the
\nmilitary atrocities committed in the past nine years in Aceh,\"
\nRuslan, a member of Student Solidarity for Aceh, said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Members of the National Commission on Human Rights, who just
\nreturned from the province on Saturday, said that the military
\noperations killed at least 781 people and caused thousands more
\nto suffer.<\/p>\n
Munir also said on Monday that the Lhok Nibung incident might
\nhave been fabricated by ABRI to create unrest, which in turn
\nwould justify the military's strong-presence in the troubled
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
\"It is strange that ABRI announced that seven off-duty
\nsoldiers were killed even though they had not been able to
\nrecover the bodies,\" Munir said, referring to ABRI spokesman Maj.
\nGen. Syamsul Ma'arif's announcement on Dec. 29.<\/p>\n
The military said that patrols had so far recovered the bodies
\nof six of the soldiers. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/11-soldiers-arrested-for-murder-1447893297",
"image": ""
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