Speakers say Aceh refugees need international aid<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of refugees in Aceh need international
\naid because the government and private parties in the country are
\nnot providing them sufficient help, speakers at a discussion on
\nAceh here said.<\/p>\n
Muhammad Ali, who recently came from a refugee camp in
\nLhokseumawe, said during Thursday's event that \"it had been over
\na year since we were traumatized\" and the help of the United
\nNations High Commissioner for Refugees was urgent.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know who is behind all this (violence),\" he said.
\n\"The people only know that the military sets up roadblocks and
\ntheir driver licenses and vehicle documents are never returned,
\nand that they are sometimes beaten.\"<\/p>\n
\"Now the children cannot go to school because their schools
\nhave been burned down,\" Muhammad said, referring to a rash of
\nschool burnings over the past few months.<\/p>\n
He said many of the 6,200 refugees in one camp suffered from
\nfevers and lung problems.<\/p>\n
The independent Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras) recently announced there were almost 60,000
\nrefugees in various areas.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Otto Syamsudin Ishak, who is based in Banda Aceh,
\nsaid he feared the refugees' health could deteriorate in the next
\nmonth if the harvest was not successful.<\/p>\n
Apart from the weather factor, \"The new trend now is the
\nharassment of refugee camps,\" he told participants at the
\ndiscussion, hosted by Kontras.<\/p>\n
He said soldiers disturbed the camps' water sources and the
\nrefugees' efforts to collect food from passersby.<\/p>\n
Military members were \"shocked\" when residents fled their
\narrival, he said.<\/p>\n
Otto said locals' reaction reflected the fear the 10-year
\nmilitary operation in the province had instilled in residents.
\nThe operation was ended last year. \"They (residents) now refuse
\nto serve the military and they leave their homes as a sign of
\nrebellion or self-defense.\"<\/p>\n
The military has said residents were being driven from their
\nhomes by separatists.<\/p>\n
Acehnese participants at the talks said the separatist Free
\nAceh Movement had never been known to burn buses and schools.<\/p>\n
At the event, a woman, Rosmita, appealed to authorities to
\nreturn her two sons, who were both employees at the state-owned
\nelectricity company. One was taken in early 1998 and the other
\nwas taken earlier this month, she said. \"They are not involved in
\nthe Free Aceh Movement.\"<\/p>\n
She said that since her sons were taken by the military, she
\nhad not been allowed to see them.<\/p>\n
A former politician with the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\nreported cases of violence against women, including mass rapes.<\/p>\n
\"We ask, what if the victims were daughters of (President
\nB.J.) Habibie and (military commander Gen.) Wiranto,\" Nursita
\nAndi said, adding that the latest reported rape occurred last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Justice Muladi said at the House of
\nRepresentatives an independent team to investigate cases of
\nviolence in Aceh would soon be established.<\/p>\n
A member of the National Commission on Human Rights, Samsudin,
\na former military officer, said the commission refused to
\nparticipate in the team because of the time limit placed on cases
\nthe team would be allowed to investigate. This time limit means
\nalleged human rights abuses committed during the 10-year military
\noperation will not be investigated by the team.<\/p>\n
He said the national commission would continue its efforts to
\nestablish another team to investigate alleged abuses in Aceh.
\n\"The government has a continuing responsibility from one period
\nto another.\"<\/p>\n
Gen. Wiranto earlier said the public should remember that
\nseveral soldiers were also the victims of rights abuses in Aceh.
\n(anr)<\/p>",
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