Child and female soldiers a reality in Aceh war<\/p>\n
Lela E. Madjiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
We must not close our eyes to the fact that child soldiers are
\nboth victims and perpetrators. They sometimes carry out the most
\nbarbaric acts of violence. But no matter what the child is guilty
\nof, the main responsibility lies with us, the adults. There is
\nsimply no excuse, no acceptable argument for arming children. --
\nArchbishop Desmond Tutu quoted in Youth Advocate Program
\nInternational, \"Child Soldiers: Youth Who Participate in Armed
\nConflict\", 1999, and in Juvenile Justice and Child Soldiers:
\nTrends, Dilemmas, Challenges by Christina Clark, Coalition to
\nStop the Use of Child Soldiers (CSC) Secretariat.<\/p>\n
Nothing is perhaps more heartrending and disturbing than hearing
\nreports of children being killed in war, not as innocent victims
\nbut as combatants. It is therefore not at all surprising that
\nrecent reports of children in Aceh becoming targets of government
\nsecurity forces' bullets have caused grave concern at home and
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
The reports have also cast doubts on promises by the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) to avoid civilian casualties and to
\nrespect human rights in the war against Acehnese separatist
\nrebels.<\/p>\n
Will the military spare children, and women too? This is a
\nquestion many are asking.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Time magazine (June 2 edition), Army
\nChief of Staff Ryamizard Ryacudu explained that it was not a
\nquestion of being children or women.<\/p>\n
\"If they are armed and fire, they will be shot because
\nchildren and women can kill too,\" Ryamizard said in the interview
\nwith the magazine.<\/p>\n
He was responding to a question about youths aged between 11
\nand 20 years old killed by government forces in Bireuen regency,
\nnorthern Aceh.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Acehnese rebels have an army of women soldiers
\nknown by their local name Inong Bale. There are also reports of
\nthe use of child soldiers by the rebels. According to the Map of
\nChild Soldiers 2000\/2001 published by the London-based Coalition
\nto Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (CSC), in Indonesia child
\nsoldiers are used by paramilitary and opposition groups. The
\nlatter include the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
The recruitment of women into armed forces is governed by law
\nand their involvement in armed conflicts comes under the
\njurisdiction of the law of war, also called the rules of
\nengagement or the humanitarian law.<\/p>\n
In a simulation used by the International Committee of the Red
\nCross to promote the law of war among troops across the globe, a
\nnurse is shown pushing a baby carriage in a war zone. She is
\nconsidered nonhostile. Suddenly, the nurse grabs a gun from the
\ncarriage and aims it at a soldier. The soldier then has the right
\nto shoot her because, although she is a woman and wearing a
\nhabit, she is a threat to the soldier.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if the soldier faces an enemy in uniform
\nbut the enemy raises his gun above his head in surrender, then
\nthe soldier is prohibited from shooting the enemy and will be
\ncommitting a gross violation of humanitarian law if he does.<\/p>\n
While women's participation in war is protected by law, the
\nuse of child soldiers is banned by a United Nations treaty
\nprohibiting the use of children under 18 in hostilities. The
\ntreaty was enforced on Feb. 12, 2002.<\/p>\n
Earlier in September 1999, the United Nations Security Council
\nadopted Resolution 1261 condemning the targeting and use of
\nchildren in armed conflict.<\/p>\n
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court meanwhile
\ndefines the recruitment and use in hostilities of children under
\nthe age of 15 by any armed force or armed group, in both
\ninternational and non-international armed conflicts, as a war
\ncrime (Article 8 (2) (b) (xxvi) and (e) (vii).<\/p>\n
Despite the international ban, some 300,000 children under the
\nage of 18 are actively participating in armed conflicts in more
\nthan 35 countries worldwide. Most are between the ages of 14 and
\n17, but some are as young as seven or eight, according to CSC in
\nits November 2002 report to the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
In its Global Report on Child Soldiers 2001, the CSC said it
\nfound evidence of children as young as seven participating in
\nsome aspects of a conflict -- as cooks, porters, messengers or
\nspies. Once children are strong enough to carry and handle
\nweapons, usually around age 10, these children may also take on
\nthe responsibilities of frontline soldiers, the report said.<\/p>\n
While the law of war provides a clear guidance for soldiers to
\nact in various combat situations and in facing enemies in
\ncivilian disguises, there is still unclear guidance on how to
\ntreat child soldiers.<\/p>\n
As Ryamizard said, children can kill too. The first U.S.
\ncasualty in Afghanistan was a Green Beret sergeant named Nathan
\nRoss Chapman. A veteran of the Panama invasion, Chapman was shot
\nin the legs with an AK-47 and bled to death. The shooter was 14,
\naccording to an article published by the St. Petersburg Times on
\nApril 8, 2003.<\/p>\n
Indonesian security forces fighting guerrilla fighters in Aceh
\nface the same problems as any government and regular armed forces
\nin the world face when dealing with irregular armies fighting
\nguerrilla warfare.<\/p>\n
Child soldiers in Aceh are indeed a dilemma for the TNI. This
\nis partly due to the fact that the Acehnese rebels apply the
\nguerrilla tactic of wearing civilian clothes during combat,
\naccording to a TNI officer who asked not to be named.<\/p>\n
\"When a battle is over and they (the rebels) are on the losing
\nside and are unable to take their fatalities with them, all we
\nwill find are dead bodies in civilian clothes. This is what the
\nmedia and human rights groups report as civilian casualties while
\nin fact they are guerrillas,\" said the officer.<\/p>\n
It may be so. It is also a fact that the law of war only
\napplies to regular armed forces. However, as Archbishop Desmond
\nTutu said, children are both victims and perpetrators. Dealing
\nwith child soldiers is therefore a challenge for the TNI: to be
\ncompassionate without endangering their mission and the lives of
\nsoldiers.<\/p>",
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