Military fired at us blindly: Victims<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Victims and witnesses of the May 3
\nshooting at Krueng Geukueh in North Aceh asserted over the
\nweekend that the military has lied to the world about the
\nincident, in which at least 41 people, including children and
\nwomen, were killed.<\/p>\n
Seven victims being treated in the intensive care unit at
\nZainoel Abidin Hospital in Banda Aceh, their relatives and
\nwitnesses, including local reporters, told The Jakarta Post here
\non Saturday that the military's version stating that it fired in
\nself-defense after being attacked by Free Aceh rebels was nothing
\nbut a lie.<\/p>\n
Sopyan, 25, of Alue Garot whose kidney was perforated by a
\nbullet, said: "In the name of Allah, we were not there to attack
\nanyone, but to protect our area and all our neighbors from any
\npossible attack by the military."<\/p>\n
According to the victims and witnesses, some 5,000 people from
\ndifferent villages in Dewantara district formed a human barricade
\nat the KKA crossroads on Monday against the possibility of a
\nmilitary attack. They also asked the head of the district and
\nlocal military officials to help settle a dispute between the
\nvillagers and members of the nearby 001 Rudal Air Defense
\nArtillery (Arhanud).<\/p>\n
"While some of the villagers were still discussing the matter
\nwith personnel from the 113 Infantry Battalion, I saw two Arhanud
\ntrucks heavily packed with the unit's uniformed personnel,
\nspeeding from behind the Army battalion and blindly firing their
\nguns in our direction," recalled Nurdin M. Sabil, 35, of Lancang
\nBarat, who sustained a critical gunshot wound to the back.<\/p>\n
Nurdin and other victims and eyewitnesses said the dispute
\nbegan on the evening of April 29 when local villagers held a mass
\ngathering on the Free Aceh movement at Cot Meurong field, which
\nis located near a mosque.<\/p>\n
"During the gathering, an Arhanud trooper was spotted by the
\nvillagers holding a walkie-talkie and standing near the podium.
\nThe sergeant, identified as Editya Warman, was then questioned by
\nthe people and later asked to leave the site," Masykur T.
\nRandista, a local reporter, said.<\/p>\n
Muzakkir A. Thaleb of Bluka Tebai village, who was shot in the
\nleft thigh, added that a group of Arhanud members rushed to the
\narea on the next day and forcibly demanded villagers hand over
\ntheir colleague, who they said was abducted by villagers.<\/p>\n
Violence<\/p>\n
"I saw with my own eyes how my neighbors were slapped by the
\nArhanud personnel when the villagers said they knew nothing about
\nthe abduction or told them that their fellow soldier had already
\nbeen freed.<\/p>\n
"Some of them even had the barrel of the soldiers' guns put
\ninto their mouths," Muzakkir added.<\/p>\n
The military sweeps ended on May 1 after Dewantara district
\nchief ordered the Arhanud members to stop their search.<\/p>\n
"Unfortunately, on the next day a number of angry soldiers
\nwent to the villages at night for the same mission, triggering
\nthe people's anger," added a local resident, who refused to be
\nnamed.<\/p>\n
Fearing an incident with the military in which lives would be
\nlost, the people informed residents of nearby villages about
\ntheir problem and asked for backup.<\/p>\n
"I received the message on Monday morning. I then rushed to
\nsharpen my machete and together with scores of my neighbors got
\ninto a truck prepared by a senior resident in my village,"
\nrecalled Sopyan of Alue Garot, located about 17 kilometers from
\nthe KKA crossroads.<\/p>\n
Nurdin of Lancang Barat, added: "We then gathered at the KKA
\ncrossroads beginning at 8 a.m., urging the district chief and the
\nlocal military commander to once again remind the Arhanud
\npersonnel not to break their promise", of not starting trouble.<\/p>\n
According to reporter Masykur, the district chief was still
\ntalking with officials from the 113 infantry battalion when the
\nArhanud trucks filled with soldiers arrived from the back of the
\nbattalion units and fired their guns continuously into the crowd.<\/p>\n
"I saw a girl hiding inside a concrete house shot dead by a
\nbullet going straight through the concrete wall," he said.<\/p>\n
Similar to Masykur, the critically wounded victims at the
\nhospital said the soldiers fired into the crowd for at least half
\nan hour.<\/p>\n
Many of the victims were shot while lying facedown on the
\nasphalt road.<\/p>\n
"They're so brutal. They blindly fired their guns at any
\ncivilian without any warning," said Saridin, in his 30s, who was
\nshot in the right cheek.<\/p>\n
Deceit<\/p>\n
Lilawangsa Regional Military Headquarters Commander Col.
\nJohnny Wahab said earlier that the protesting crowd opened fire
\nfirst and troops returned fire in self-defense. The local
\nmilitary also claimed villagers planned to take over a nearby
\nmissile warehouse.<\/p>\n
Many of the witnesses and the victims insisted that the
\nmilitary's version was merely a lie.<\/p>\n
"Why were there no fatalities on the military's side? What
\nabout the killing of the children?" asked another reporter.<\/p>\n
The victims' statements were strongly supported by the
\nfindings of in-depth inquiries by local members of the Commission
\nof Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), a Jakarta-
\nbased non-governmental organization.<\/p>\n
Kontras chairman Munir told the Post in Banda Aceh: "If the
\nvillagers really wanted to take over the missile warehouse, why
\ndid locals leave the storehouse alone and instead join the crowd
\nat the KKA crossroads?"<\/p>\n
Scores of villagers were also seriously injured in the May 3
\nincident at Kreung Geukeuh, 15 kilometers west of the North Aceh
\ncapital of Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
However, none of the critically wounded victims at the
\nhospital regret what it cost them to protect their villages.<\/p>\n
"What for? It's better for me to die this way rather than to
\nbe killed by soldiers from Java without any resistance. I'm proud
\nto die a martyr's death," said Sopyan.<\/p>\n
Muzakkir added: "All of us here have had grim nightmares for
\nyears. It's not easy to throw away the traumatic killing of tens
\nof thousands of Acehnese by the military. So, it's better for us
\nto die in this way."<\/p>\n
He was referring to a notorious decade of military operations
\nto quell a separatist movement in the province.<\/p>\n
The military operations began in 1989 and were only halted
\nlast August. Thousands of Acehnese are believed to have died due
\nto the military operations.<\/p>\n
Many believe the military shootings have ensured that tensions
\nwill be high in the province ahead of the June 7 general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
"Most residents even don't care about the elections," said
\nsociologist Tamrin Amal Tomagola of the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
On Friday, a battalion of 450 riot troops were dispatched from
\nJakarta and will be stationed in and around Lhokseumawe.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/military-fired-at-us-blindly-victims-1447893297",
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