Bantaqiah's relatives appeal for troop withdrawal in Aceh<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Relatives of slain Islamic boarding school
\nteacher Tengku Bantaqiah called on the government to withdraw
\ntroops from Aceh, saying their presence only propagated a climate
\nof fear and terror.<\/p>\n
\"We plead for a troop withdrawal because there have been too
\nmany innocent casualties in Aceh,\" the group's leader, Tengku
\nZainudin, told journalists on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"We know that troops arrived in Aceh to quell the separatist
\nFree Aceh Movement (GAM), but in the end, civilians have become
\nthe victims ... Our houses have been set on fire and people
\neverywhere have been getting shot,\" Zainudin added.<\/p>\n
Troops allegedly shot dead Bantaqiah, his first wife, his
\nstudents and dozens of farmers in an antirebel raid in the remote
\nBeutong area, some 100 kilometers south of the North Aceh capital
\nof Lhokseumawe on July 23.<\/p>\n
Local military officers maintain Bantaqiah and his students
\nwere allies of the separatists and that they were killed in an
\nexchange of fire.<\/p>\n
Witnesses and a government-sanctioned inquiry said, however,
\nthat the killings were executed by army troops.<\/p>\n
Zainudin said the Beutong area is still besieged by troops and
\nthat people who want to return to the village would have to go
\nthrough various intimidating security checkpoints.<\/p>\n
He also said those who wanted to return to Beutong were
\nsometimes accused of being GAM supporters.<\/p>\n
\"That is why people are still reluctant to return because
\nthere is no security guarantee ... We are actually not on
\nanybody's side, we only want peace in Aceh,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Bantaqiah's second wife, Manfarisyah said on Thursday that the
\ngroup was in Jakarta to try to meet with President Abdurrahman
\nWahid to ask for better assurances for their security.<\/p>\n
\"We urge the government to guarantee our security so that we
\ncan resume our daily activities and reopen the Islamic boarding
\nschool,\" Manfarisyah said.<\/p>\n
The trial of about 25 military personnel and civilians who
\nwere allegedly involved in the murder is scheduled to start in
\nthe provincial capital of Banda Aceh in early March.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists doubted, however, that the trial would
\nbe able to disclose the mystery behind the killings as one of the
\nprime suspects, Lt. Col. Sudjono, has been missing since November
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Aceh has been wracked by daily clashes between troops and
\nrebels and supporters of the separatists. An estimated 200 people
\nhave been killed since the start of the year.<\/p>\n
A decade of military operations against the rebels, which
\nended in 1998, and the siphoning off of the province's resources
\nhave fueled popular resentment against Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Women<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Banda Aceh, the Aceh Women's Congress Duek Pakat
\nInong Aceh recommended on Thursday that the government soon forge
\na government-sanctioned commission to investigate alleged rights
\nviolations in the restive province.<\/p>\n
About 600 Acehnese women gathered in a five-day congress which
\nended late on Wednesday, demanded a similar commission which was
\nestablished for East Timor rights cases to probe rights
\nviolations during the past decade.<\/p>\n
The congress said that between 1989 and 1998, the military
\noperation to crack down on alleged separatist movements claimed
\nat least 1,021 lives. Another 864 people are still classified as
\nmissing.<\/p>\n
The women also urged warring parties involved in the prolonged
\nconflict to end their actions and that peace be immediately
\nsought to free people from fear and intimidation.<\/p>\n
\"We will soon convey this message through a delegation to meet
\nthe central government and House of Representatives (DPR),\" a
\nmedia statement from the congress said.<\/p>\n
\"Women are the vital agents of social change,\" the statement
\nsaid, adding that women should be given greater access in the
\ndecision-making process that affects the province.<\/p>\n
They lamented that what practically began as a political
\nconflict between the government and separatist rebels has
\nescalated to unnecessary acts, such as the demolition of schools.<\/p>\n
Provincial councillor O.K. Ibrahim, chief of the council's
\ncommission for welfare affairs, stated that at least 1,000
\norphans aged between 10 and 15 years old have dropped out of
\nschool in the past year. (50\/51\/edt\/byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bantaqiahs-relatives-appeal-for-troop-withdrawal-in-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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