Rights activists fleeing Aceh to avoid arrests<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Leading the life of a human rights activist working in war-torn
\nAceh is obviously not something that everyone is cut out for.<\/p>\n
Intimidation, assault, abduction and even murder have long
\nbeen occupational hazards for activists in the province, which
\nhas been the scene of a bloody conflict for over 27 years.<\/p>\n
The imposition of martial law in the province on May 19 has
\ncreated another nightmare for them as the troops label them
\nsupporters of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which is
\nthe target of the military operation in the province.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, a joint military and police team arrested
\nNuraini, 27, a volunteer coordinator for the Commission for
\nMissing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Pidie, and
\nher 70-year-old father Zakaria Umar.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Supartodi, Pidie military commander, told reporters
\nthat Nuraini and her father were arrested as the officers found
\nsome 20 ID cards in their house during a raid at 5 a.m. on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
He added that Zakaria was a former member of GAM and once led
\nthe separatists in the Bambum area of Delima district.<\/p>\n
The officers also arrested 50-year-old Zulkifli, who is
\nallegedly a fund-raiser for GAM.<\/p>\n
Nuraini told The Jakarta Post that she was harassed sexually
\nby the officers during the trip from her house to the Pidie
\nmilitary district office.<\/p>\n
The military has declared that it will crack down on activists
\nfrom non-governmental organizations linked to GAM. They include
\nthe Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) and the Student-
\nPeople's Solidarity (SMUR) organizations.<\/p>\n
Many rights activists, especially from NGOs labeled by the
\nmilitary as having links to GAM, have fled the province due to
\nthe increasing threats.<\/p>\n
Jamek (not his real name), a volunteer with a rights
\norganization in Aceh whom the military labels a GAM supporter,
\nspoke to the Post on Thursday about the impossible situation he
\nfound himself in.<\/p>\n
\"I left the province last month to avoid possible abduction by
\nmilitary-backed militias,\" he told the Post during an interview
\non Thursday.<\/p>\n
Jamek, who repeatedly asked to remain anonymous, has been
\ninvestigating the existence of pro-Jakarta militias in Aceh since
\n2000.<\/p>\n
Militiamen, who happened to be his neighbors in a village in
\nCentral Aceh, later found out about his activities, and then
\nvisited his home to ask his parents about his whereabouts.<\/p>\n
On his way home from Banda Aceh, Jamek made a phone call to
\nhis house. His parents told him not to come home and to leave
\nAceh immediately as one of his cousins had been shot dead by the
\nmilitia.<\/p>\n
He then went back to Banda Aceh. Unfortunately, another group
\nof militia stopped the public bus he was riding in to seek out
\nGAM members.<\/p>\n
\"They checked my belongings. I could only pray to God for
\nprotection. Fortunately, they let us go,\" said Jamek, who has
\nbeen a rights monitor for five years.<\/p>\n
Jamek managed to leave Banda Aceh for Jakarta to avoid
\narbitrary arrest. \"If you are arrested, it means you disappear.\"<\/p>\n
He said a number of other activists had left the province for
\nother parts of the country.<\/p>\n
\"Several friends of mine who are married must live apart from
\ntheir families as they don't want them to become involved in this
\naffair,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jamek believes that intelligence agents continue to monitor
\nthem. Therefore, the activists have always to be on the alert.<\/p>\n
Not only that. In addition, not all neighborhoods, especially
\nin Jakarta, welcome Acehnese. Jamek says he has to move from one
\nplace to another as neighborhood unit leaders always quiz him due
\nto his Acehnese origins.<\/p>\n
\"I don't feel like I am a citizen of this country,\" said
\nJamek.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-activists-fleeing-aceh-to-avoid-arrests-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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