Wiranto must apologize: Activists<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Acehnese activists demanded here yesterday that
\nArmed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto apologize for doubting the
\nfindings of a National Commission on Human Rights' investigation
\nof military atrocities allegedly committed in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The commission itself challenged any doubters to double check
\nits findings yesterday.<\/p>\n
Commission member Koesparmono Irsan told journalists that if
\nthe military doubted the findings of the commission team which
\nexcavated mass graves containing the victims of the alleged
\natrocities, they could check with the North Sumatra University
\nForensics Department and local doctors who assisted in the
\nexhumation of bodies from the sites.<\/p>\n
A group of Acehnese activists also blasted Wiranto's remarks,
\nsaying that it was a cynical attempt to prevent the Armed Forces'
\nreputation from being sullied by the shameful revelations now
\ncoming out of Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"If he (Wiranto) was able to apologize for what happened to us
\nduring the military operations then he must also apologize for
\nmaking this statement,\" the groups's coordinator Fajran Zain
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He contended that it should be the Aceh people themselves who
\nhave the right to judge the accuracy of the findings since it was
\nthem who experienced the terrors of the military operations at
\nfirst hand.<\/p>\n
Wiranto on Wednesday criticized the commission for publicizing
\nits findings on the number of victims of alleged atrocities
\nperpetrated by the military in Aceh over the last decade without
\nfirst checking with the authorities.<\/p>\n
The commission announced on Monday that it had received
\nreports that at least 782 people were killed, 368 tortured, 168
\nreported missing, 3,000 women widowed and between 15,000 and
\n20,000 children orphaned during the nine years of military
\noperations against Acehnese separatists which began in 1989.<\/p>\n
Wiranto even suggested that some of the skeletons unearthed by
\nthe commission could have been victims of the 1965 communist
\nuprising.<\/p>\n
\"Skeletons don't talk do they,\" Wiranto remarked.<\/p>\n
Acehnese activists decried the ease with which Wiranto brushed
\naside the findings after they met with Baharuddin Lopa, M. Salim,
\nSoegiri and Koesparmono from the commission's fact finding team
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Only the people of Aceh have the right to respond... because
\nit was the Acehnese people who first reported the atrocities to
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights,\" Fajran remarked.<\/p>\n
He said that it was incorrect to suggest that the graves
\ncontained victims of the 1965 communist uprising because the
\nskeletons were still adorned in the remains of clothes bearing
\nrecognizable brand names.<\/p>\n
Separately in Semarang, Central Java, commission member
\nSatjipto Rahardjo said the team was ready to reveal its findings.<\/p>\n
\"If there are parties who regret our findings, that's their
\nright. But if they suggest that we have been unprofessional,
\ncareless and not diligent in checking the evidence, we cannot
\naccept that,\" said Satjipto, who is a senior lecturer at
\nDiponegoro University in Semarang.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, sociologist Asma Affan urged
\nPresident B.J. Habibie to visit the sites of the alleged
\natrocities.<\/p>\n
A mere apology from the President for the atrocities committed
\nduring the military operation is not enough for the Acehnese
\npeople, Asma claimed.<\/p>\n
\"An apology from the president will not heal the pain and
\nsuffering of the families and relatives of victims of the
\natrocities,\" he said late on Thursday. (har\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wiranto-must-apologize-activists-1447893297",
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