TNI feared to hamper investigation into Aceh rights abuses<\/p>\n
Though thousands of internal refugees have returned home,
\nsporadic violence and disappearances continue in Aceh amid
\nmounting calls for a referendum. Saifuddin Bantasyam, executive
\ndirector of a non-governmental organization focusing on human
\nrights -- Forum Peduli HAM in Banda Aceh -- shared the hopes of
\nthe Acehnese in a long-distance interview with The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Question: What is the response in Aceh to the appointment of a
\nnew State Ministry of Human Rights under Hasballah M. Saad?<\/p>\n
Answer: Some appreciate this measure, that the appointment by
\nGus Dur (President Abdurrahman Wahid) reflects his special
\nattention to Aceh ... (However) the appointment of a minister
\nfrom Irian Jaya shows that Aceh is only one of several issues the
\ngovernment is trying to accommodate.<\/p>\n
Some say the appointment of Hasballah cannot possibly lead to
\nthe settlements of human rights violations here, even if the
\nminister is an Acehnese. Hasballah is only one person; the
\nheaviest constraint is political will.<\/p>\n
I agree with this latter view: that Acehnese should not expect
\ntoo much if the political system is not willing to place the
\nsupremacy of the law above all else. There have been many
\nexamples. (Former president B.J.) Habibie changed the attorney
\ngeneral four times, but whoever becomes the person in charge,
\nit's no use if there is no intention to settle things.<\/p>\n
The appointment of five military members is not only an
\naccommodation of their role in the Cabinet, it could extend to
\ntheir continued political role which could influence the
\nsettlement of Aceh related cases.<\/p>\n
So while Gus Dur may intend to move in the right direction,
\nthe Indonesian Military (TNI) could still exert their influence
\n(against his efforts). The role of Gen. Wiranto as Coordinating
\nMinister for Political and Security Affairs remains strong, and
\nrelates to the domestic and international sphere.<\/p>\n
If TNI thinks the investigation of rights violations could
\ndisturb its domestic and international interests it's possible
\nthat investigations could be discontinued.<\/p>\n
Therefore the appointment of the new ministry is good. It
\nshows the institutionalizing of the handling of human rights, but
\npolitically it might not be so significant.<\/p>\n
Military leaders have said they are willing to take action
\nagainst their men as long as we have evidence. We do have strong
\nleads, the problem is that there has been no political will.<\/p>\n
The exception would be if there were some blessings in
\ndisguise (in the new government); that Gus Dur doesn't care about
\nthe TNI (being affected in investigations); that their being
\naffected would just be a consequence of the reformist government
\nbeing committed to democracy and human rights.<\/p>\n
But we feel things won't go far enough to lead to significant
\npersecution of military members. Gus Dur has shown intention on
\nthe investigation of cases, which really touches the public
\ndemand, though it's a bit confusing as he's also told the
\nmilitary to conduct their own investigation.<\/p>\n
Q: Demands for a referendum have been voiced loudly again, such
\nas from the thousands turned out for rallies in Banda Aceh and
\nother areas. But the past and current governments have not seemed
\nto be responding seriously to this. There are signs that
\nfederalism is not ruled out, but the new leaders seem adamant
\nthat no other province should be allowed to be let go from the
\ncountry for the sake of \"unity\"...<\/p>\n
A: I indeed fear that the government does not take the demands
\nseriously. That the government does not want to let Aceh go is an
\nold story to us; the issue should be how to avoid (provinces
\nwhich want to depart from the country). We want violations to be
\ntaken to court and that social and economic injustices be ended.
\nBut Acehnese have been made to wait and wait. The psychological
\natmosphere now has reached the point of (them) wanting to see
\ninstant action.<\/p>\n
Initially, all that people demanded was that the law be
\nupheld, which was not done. Wiranto only came here to apologize;
\nhardly any legal action was taken. Demands then changed. Since
\nFebruary, there have been calls for a referendum and the ulema
\nhave also joined in, not just the students.<\/p>\n
This week, demands for a referendum in rallies attended by
\nthousands of people in Central and South Aceh obtained support
\nfrom their respective legislatures.<\/p>\n
Q: Can the new law on autonomy for Aceh be considered a good
\nstart to redress the problems?<\/p>\n
A: The aim is good but it should be noted that there are three
\nmain points in relation to Aceh: rights violations have not been
\nlegally processed; continued social and economic injustice; and
\ncalls for independence from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Last
\nweek's meeting among GAM leaders in Pidie asserted they only want
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
The injustice is beginning to be addressed by the new
\ngovernment regulation on human rights courts, the law on the
\nnational commission on human rights, the appointment of a human
\nrights minister, the law on regional autonomy, fiscal balance and
\nAceh's autonomy. But the problems do not end there. How should
\nthe calls for independence be addressed?<\/p>\n
Answering problems with the law on autonomy for Aceh is only
\nsimplifying matters. Distrust in the government in the last 10
\nyears has become so heightened.<\/p>\n
People are now opening history books regarding events in the
\n1950s and early 1960s when rebellions ended in various promises
\nfrom the central government which were never met... people are
\nbecoming critical of how the government handles Aceh. This
\nattitude was not possible in the past as people were afraid (and)
\ninformation was not easy to obtain.<\/p>\n
Calls for a referendum will be increasing. The rally last week
\nin Banda Aceh revealed a good sign from the government in the
\nsense that there was enough space for expression; the convoys
\nwere escorted by police and there were no soldiers. If the
\nsecurity personnel had reacted in a harsh way the public would
\nhave become increasingly angry.<\/p>\n
Q: Following public demand, most troops have been withdrawn. The
\nmilitary says only a few troops are still guarding \"vital
\nprojects\", while others are left to guard against violence toward
\nthe public. The President has said a military command will not be
\nset up. Has this satisfied demands regarding a military presence?<\/p>\n
A: Gus Dur's statement has met positive response here, it brings
\nsome relief. Regarding withdrawal of troops, this is different
\nfrom an end to military operations. Withdrawal should mean no
\nmore setting up of military camps in villages, the withdrawal of
\ntroops to their posts in the regions and an end to offensive
\nactions in districts. There are still troops in the regions, but
\noffensive actions have been reduced. Troops no longer enter
\nvillages each day seeking suspected rebels or people suspected of
\nattacking their members.<\/p>\n
But rights violations continue each time they conduct
\ninspections against residents and we have raised protests.<\/p>\n
There is a need for troops in reasonable numbers but ... they
\nshould stop being a frightening thing to people. Despite police
\ntaking over security since August, people are still traumatized
\nby soldiers because of their actions in inspections of civilians.<\/p>\n
In a number of cases soldiers have failed to control
\nthemselves, detaining people before handing them over to police
\nafter abusing them. We're not against detention but they should
\nfollow procedures.<\/p>\n
Q: Apart from the statement on the alleged slaughter in Beutong
\nAteuh, do you know of other progress by the independent fact-
\nfinding team on rights violations in Aceh? Do they get support
\nfrom the public?<\/p>\n
A: We have been informed that so far six cases may be ready to be
\nfiled at courts this month. They include cases during the
\nmilitary operations period and after that. The latter include the
\nmass killings in Beutong Ateuh (the attack on a suspected rebel
\nhide out in West Aceh in July) and the clash in Simpang KKA
\n(Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, in May). The public willingly gives the
\nteam information.<\/p>\n
So the only problem which remains is the government's
\npolitical will. There could be interventions to stop the trials.
\nSome members of the fact-finding team have said they will
\nwithdraw if there are such interventions from government people.
\nI only respect the set up of the team for the sake of upholding
\nthe law and to show that maybe a few cases can actually come to
\nlight. But they have such a difficult task. Their mandate is six
\nmonths and this is already the third month... Trial and error
\nwill be involved; maybe TNI also wants to test public reaction.<\/p>\n
Q: Hundreds of village heads have stepped down in Pidie and
\ngovernment offices remain closed. Could you describe the current
\nsense of security?<\/p>\n
A: Mysterious killings continue although clashes among security
\npersonnel and armed rebels have declined in the last few months.
\nThis leads to questions regarding the results of the thousands of
\ntroops which were sent here. Only this week have reports of
\nmissing people in various areas reduced from the former average
\nfrequency of one in two days. Of course in documenting cases, we
\ntry to distinguish between political cases and criminal cases. We
\nare still receiving reports of missing people that date back to
\n1996... There are also people being released from arbitrary
\ndetention who, fearing they could get into even more trouble,
\nrefuse to press charges.<\/p>\n
Regarding Pidie, we have statements from the Free Aceh
\nMovement urging that except for vital facilities like hospitals,
\ngovernment people stay away from their offices. Officials are
\ncoming in without their uniforms and leaving as quickly as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
Q: How do you think the Free Aceh Movement should be placed in
\nthe settlement of Aceh problems? There are now signs of a dialog
\nwith the government; while Acehnese themselves aren't sure of the
\nstrength of the movement...<\/p>\n
A: The government must work hard to identify the GAM forces and
\ntry to reach out to them ...It's not clear yet to which GAM
\npeople the President claimed he spoke to...The atmosphere became
\nmore problematic with Gus Dur's statement that it is not TNI
\nwhich has carried out the killings but people in TNI uniforms.
\nThere has hardly been due legal process.<\/p>\n
The Free Aceh Movement is a political reality in Aceh. People
\nare not sure of its strength but clashes have clearly led to
\ndeaths among police and military.<\/p>\n
But what is important here is that because there has been no
\nupholding of the law, GAM has received public sympathy, more so
\namong people whose parents or relatives have become victims of
\nthe military operations.<\/p>\n
People have turned to GAM for a sense of security.<\/p>\n
The new policies must immediately be implemented, such as the
\nupholding of syariah (Islamic law) and the laws on Aceh
\nautonomy, regional autonomy and fiscal balance. People can no
\nlonger wait. But if public reactions are not as the government
\nexpected that's a different thing.<\/p>\n
Political settlement to calls for a referendum should also be
\naddressed. If the calls eventually come from Aceh's four million
\npeople will the government still ignore this?<\/p>\n
It would be impossible to restore trust in the government if
\nthe government ignores the people.<\/p>\n
A simple small step to restore trust would be to have people
\ninformed if military or police members are sanctioned by their
\nsuperiors for having violated rules. The police and military may
\nsay they are avoiding anything untoward by not exposing those
\nsanctions, but mistrust will continue if the public does not know
\nof such unexposed sanctions.<\/p>\n
People here are still very enthusiastic in reporting matters;
\nthey're coming to us just as usual. If this enthusiasm is not
\nresponded to adequately then there will be more trouble.<\/p>\n
We know the principal of humanity is universal but the fact is
\nthat the international community applies this discriminately;
\npolitics remains the decisive factor in the selection of cases.
\nIt is between these small spaces of universality and political
\ndiscrimination that we continue to work on awareness of human
\nrights and hope for their settlement. The United Kingdom has said
\nit would pay attention to Aceh now the problem of East Timor is
\nover. (anr)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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