Another policeman killed in Aceh<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An unidentified group of men killed a police
\nofficer on Friday night in Dewantara district, Lhokseumawe, North
\nAceh Police chief Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Syafei said the killers slit Corp. Ali Rachman Siregar's
\nthroat while he was sleeping in his house.<\/p>\n
\"Dewantara is very volatile. We still cannot identify the
\nkillers, but I will not let the killers remain free after killing
\nmy officer,\" Syafei told The Jakarta Post from Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
Minister of Defense and Security\/Indonesian Military Commander
\nGen. Wiranto said on Friday 43 security personnel had been killed
\nrecently in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Syafei also confirmed reports arsonists burned on Saturday a
\nsmall warehouse in the Arun gas field in North Aceh, which is
\noperated and partly owned by Mobil Corp., the American oil
\ncompany based in Fairfax, Virginia.<\/p>\n
He did not specify the building's contents, but said it was
\nrarely used.<\/p>\n
Last week Gen. Wiranto said Crack Riots Troops would only
\nguard vital projects, in the face of allegations that they were
\ninvolved in abuse against civilians.<\/p>\n
Syafei blamed armed separatist groups for the arson, refuting
\nallegations the military was responsible for the blaze.<\/p>\n
\"This irresponsible group continues to terrorize people.
\nAllegations that the warehouse was burned by police or military
\npersonnel are impossible, because our duty is to guard vital
\nlocations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Police said here earlier this month separatists threatened to
\nblow up the Arun natural gas refinery in Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
Syafei also said police had yet to identify four bodies found
\nin Bireun, about 60 kilometers west of Lhokseumawe. They were
\nfound on Wednesday in front of a government office with gunshot
\nwounds and their throats cut.<\/p>\n
According to residents, one of the dead was a villager seized
\nby soldiers during a military sweep on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Separately, President B.J. Habibie met on Saturday with
\nmembers of the newly established Independent Commission to
\nInvestigate Atrocities in Aceh, and assured them the team would
\nbe fully independent in probing human rights abuses in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Team chairman Amran Zamzami said his team would be able to
\nfollow up its findings, including evidence directly related to
\ngovernment offices.<\/p>\n
\"This independent commission has the authority to monitor
\nwhether the cases are followed up or just put on hold,\" Amran
\nsaid after he and 26 other commission members met with the
\nPresident at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
Habibie officially established the commission on July 30. Its
\nmembers include Rosita S. Noer, National Police officer Maj. Gen.
\nMarwan Paris, rights activist Abdul Gani Nurdin and the winner of
\nthe 1998 Yap Thiam Hien human rights award, Farida Hariyani.<\/p>\n
Amran, an Acehnese, is the patron of the Indonesian Contract
\nBridge Association, which is chaired by Gen. Wiranto. Rosita and
\nMarwan were members of the Joint Fact-Finding Team which
\ninvestigated last year's May riots.<\/p>\n
Farida, 34, has assisted widows and orphans who were victims
\nof the 1989 to 1998 military operations in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"This is my last hope regarding the government upholding
\njustice in Aceh,\" Farida said of the team.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights initially refused to
\nsit on the team, because Gen. Wiranto had said the team would
\nonly investigate alleged abuses committed after the military
\noperations in the province ended in 1998.<\/p>\n
The presidential decree on the independent team did not place
\nany time restrictions on the team's investigations.<\/p>\n
Previous fact-finding teams in Aceh, including one from the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights, have reported their results
\nto the government. However, Habibie continues to be criticized
\nfor failing to meet his promise to the Acehnese that those guilty
\nof abuses in the province would be brought to justice.<\/p>\n
The rights body reported the military operations resulted in
\nat least 781 dead, 3,000 widows and up to 20,000 orphans.<\/p>\n
Rosita was confident the independent commission, scheduled to
\nmeet with Acehnese leaders next Thursday in Aceh, would come up
\nwith concrete results.<\/p>\n
Habibie will also send several ministers to Aceh later this
\nweek. (prb)<\/p>",
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