Aceh rights abuse suspect feared kidnapped: Munir<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A human rights group claimed on Tuesday that Lt.
\nCol. Sudjono, a key suspect in a murder case allegedly carried
\nout by soldiers in Aceh, may have been kidnapped to prevent the
\nupcoming trial of the case.<\/p>\n
\"There is a big possibility that Sudjono might have been
\nkidnapped to prevent him from uncovering the violence in Aceh,\"
\ncoordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras), Munir, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Sudjono, who has been missing for at least a week, is among 20
\nmilitary personnel and civilians who were scheduled to stand
\ntrial later this month for the alleged shooting of an Islamic
\nboarding school teacher, Tengku Bantaqiah, and dozens of his
\nstudents in West Aceh last July.<\/p>\n
Troops allegedly killed Bantaqiah, his wife, his students and
\ndozens of farmers in an antirebel raid in the remote Beutong
\narea, some 100 kilometers south of Lhokseumawe on July 23.<\/p>\n
The military maintains Bantaqiah was a supporter of the Free
\nAceh Movement (GAM) and the death occurred as a result of an
\nexchange of fire.<\/p>\n
A government-sanctioned inquiry last December, however,
\nconcluded they were killed by military troops.<\/p>\n
The Beutong shooting is among five Aceh cases focused on by
\nthe inquiry in its investigation of alleged human rights abuses
\nin the restive province.<\/p>\n
Munir said that Sudjono, who is still listed as intelligence
\nchief of the Lhokseumawe-based Lilawangsa Military Command, could
\nhave been abducted to eliminate the link to his commanding
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
\"There is also a big possibility that he might have been
\nabducted because as an intelligence officer he is the man who
\ncould explain the policy-making process behind a series of
\nincidents of violence in Aceh,\" Munir said.<\/p>\n
The report of the inquiry released last year identified eight
\nmilitary officers suspected of being responsible for the
\nshooting, two of which have the rank of colonel.<\/p>\n
However, military police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri Marin said the
\nhighest ranking officer likely to be tried in this case was a
\nlieutenant colonel.<\/p>\n
Military officials said on Monday that Sudjono disappeared
\nafter obtaining permission to go on 30 days leave to his hometown
\nof Cirebon in West Java.<\/p>\n
He was due to return to his post over a week ago.<\/p>\n
Munir told journalists earlier in the day that Kontras had
\ntried unsuccessfully to confirm Sudjono's whereabouts with his
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
\"Several sources in the military told us that the possibility
\nof a lieutenant colonel deserting was too remote ... and his
\nneighbors said (Sudjono) has not been seen in three weeks,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Munir also added that it was unclear whether Sudjono had ever
\nbeen held in military detention. He asserted that Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo A.S. must explain Sudjono's
\nwhereabouts \"as part of TNI's commitment to uphold human rights.\"<\/p>\n
Separately, TNI spokesman Air Rear Marshal Graito Usodo
\ndismissed speculation that Sudjono may have been abducted and
\nsaid Widodo had instructed the military police to find Sudjono.<\/p>\n
In Lhokseumawe, the head of the North Sumatra chapter of the
\nIndonesian Attorney Association, Yusuf Ismail Pase, also urged
\nthe government and security forces to locate Sudjono.<\/p>\n
\"It's a bad precedence in the attempt to uphold the law while
\nwe're just about to start revealing rights cases here,\" he said,
\nadding that the government must also set up a protection program
\nfor other key witnesses.<\/p>\n
In a separate development, two school girls were injured when
\na grenade was thrown by an unidentified man in the Geudong area
\non Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
Cut Novita Sari and Ayu Pertiwi, both aged 10, were treated at
\nCut Meutia hospital in Lhoseumawe.<\/p>\n
\"The attacker was aiming at a military post but the blast hit
\nthe two girls who were walking to school,\" Azhari Makmun, Ayu's
\nfather, said. (50\/edt\/byg\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aceh-rights-abuse-suspect-feared-kidnapped-munir-1447893297",
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