Local people to decide on Aceh troop withdrawals<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of General Affairs Lt.
\nGen. Fachrul Razi said here Monday it would be up to the
\nreligious leaders and people of Aceh to decide when troop
\ndeployment should end in the province.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after attending a briefing by Minister
\nof Defence and Security\/ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto at the Armed
\nForces headquarters, Fachrul said: \"If the religious council, the
\nreligious leaders and Aceh people say 'enough troops', we won't
\nsend anymore. We will withdraw our soldiers. When? Anytime. It
\ncould be the day after tomorrow, or next week.\"<\/p>\n
Fachrul also discussed the plan to replace the commander of
\nthe military district in the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe,
\nwhere rioting hit on Aug. 31, only hours after the Armed Forces
\nwithdrew 558 combat troops from the region. The first withdrawal
\nof 250 troops occurred Aug. 20.<\/p>\n
The unrest left two dead and more than 200 buildings and
\nscores of vehicles damaged. The Armed Forces also suspended
\nfurther withdrawal of troops from the province, which was
\ndesignated a military operation area in 1989.<\/p>\n
\"The replacement has been planned, and it has nothing to do
\nwith the rioting,\" he said, adding that Col. Dasiri Musnar had
\nbeen in the post \"for a long time\".<\/p>\n
Separately Monday, the coordinator of the Commission for
\nMissing People and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munir, alleged
\nthe Armed Forces instigated the rioting in Lhokseumawe as
\njustification to maintain its heavy presence in the area.<\/p>\n
The rioters, mostly senior high school students, were provoked
\nby certain groups to burn or vandalize property, he charged.<\/p>\n
\"Kontras found indications of military involvement, especially
\nfrom the subdistrict military commands,\" Munir told The Jakarta
\nPost. Munir's statement was supported by Aceh's Kontras
\ncoordinator Iqbal Farabi in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives urged the government
\nMonday to take immediate measures to restore public confidence
\nbecause the Acehnese had suffered too long and excessively.<\/p>\n
\"We call on the government to grant amnesty or pardon for
\npolitical prisoners or victims of slander (that they were
\nseparatist rebels),\" the House's fact-finding team said in its
\nreport. Led by Hari Sabarno from the Armed Forces faction, the
\neight-strong team visited Aceh in July to investigate the
\ndisappearance of thousands of alleged Aceh separatist rebels.<\/p>\n
Wiranto disclosed last Friday the nine-year military operation
\nin Aceh had claimed 760 deaths, including 111 ABRI members.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights has insisted at least
\n781 people were murdered and 3,000 women widowed.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has publicly doubted both figures, arguing the latter
\nwould mean that each of the victim had four wives.<\/p>\n
The team also recommended that the Armed Forces reestablish
\nthe Iskandar Muda military command (Kodam), which was abolished
\nin 1985. It said combat troops were mostly to blame for the mass
\nkillings in the province.<\/p>\n
\"Deployment of ABRI units who do not know the social,
\nreligious and cultural background of Aceh must be avoided,\" the
\nreport said. The team also urged the government to give more
\nopportunity to locals to have more say in their own affairs.<\/p>\n
Aceh had its own military command until 1985, when it was put
\nunder the Bukit Barisan military command. The command oversees
\nAceh, North Sumatra, and Riau provinces.<\/p>\n
Aceh is divided into two military resort commands (Korem).<\/p>\n
Beginning in 1989, the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) and
\nother forces were deployed on a regular basis in Aceh because of
\nan upsurge in armed activities by the Security Disturbance
\nMovement. Meanwhile, students have established the Students
\nAlertness Command (Kokam) in Banda Aceh to monitor the campaign
\nfor the implementation of human rights in Aceh. (imn\/byg\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/local-people-to-decide-on-aceh-troop-withdrawals-1447893297",
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