Wiranto pledges to pardon separatist rebels in Aceh<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security\/Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto offered on Friday a general
\namnesty to separatist rebels in Aceh in exchange for an end to
\ntheir guerrilla war.<\/p>\n
\"We remind the armed disturbance group not to shoot, terrorize
\nthe people, damage strategic installations and fly the Free Aceh
\nflag,\" Wiranto told a meeting with editors in chief of the local
\nmedia.<\/p>\n
\"We are preparing a general amnesty, and we remind them not to
\nrepeat their acts anymore. In addition, for those who are strong
\n(fighters), we will recruit them to become a part of the
\nIndonesian military in Aceh.\"<\/p>\n
The statement came as human rights activists lashed out at the
\nplanned reestablishment of a military command in the troubled
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
\"Acehnese are still traumatized by the military atrocities, so
\nreestablishing a military command here would only complicate the
\nsituation,\" Yakob Hamzah of the Iskandarmuda Legal Aid Institute
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Friday by phone from the North Aceh
\ncapital of Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
Yakob was referring to the anti-rebel operations in Aceh from
\n1989 to 1998, of which the military has been accused of serious
\nhuman rights abuses.<\/p>\n
\"What we now need is the protection of human rights and the
\nprosecution of the rights violators during the military
\noperations.\"<\/p>\n
Wiranto said during a one-day Wednesday visit to Aceh that a
\nmilitary command would soon be reestablished in the province.<\/p>\n
On Friday he defended the plan, saying the Acehnese community
\nsupported the move. \"Everyone said it was necessary,\" Wiranto
\nsaid of some 200 local officials, legislators, Muslim clerics and
\nstudent leaders that he met on Wednesday in Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"I asked them for their opinion, I would not want to make
\nunilateral decisions after what happened in the past, especially
\nin Aceh,\" he told Antara.<\/p>\n
He argued the establishment of a military command was not an
\nequivalent measure to the 10-year military operation. He
\nregretted comments that opposed the plan. \"If people do not yet
\nunderstand what the problems are, they should not make rash
\njudgments.\"<\/p>\n
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
\n(Kontras) said on Thursday the planned military command was
\n\"irrelevant because what people want is the withdrawal of troops
\nfrom the province, an end to military operations and violence and
\nstrict measures against perpetrators of past rights abuses\".<\/p>\n
A decade-long military campaign against the separatist
\nmovement in Aceh left more than 1,000 people dead, with hundreds
\nof others still listed as missing.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Marzuki
\nDarusman, however, earlier this year said a military command was
\nneeded to control Army personnel and prevent rogue elements from
\noperating in the area without direct supervision.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Antara reported that members of an \"armed
\ndisturbance group\" in Bayu village, Tanah Luas district in North
\nAceh, ambushed late Thursday a vehicle with security personnel
\nreturning to their barracks.<\/p>\n
Two security members suffered gunshot wounds, while one of the
\nalleged assailants died, according to Lt. Col. Amrin Karim, the
\nprovincial spokesman for police operations.<\/p>\n
He said in a media statement the security personnel also
\nseized 10 military knapsacks, seven black berets, six military
\nuniforms and one large plastic tent from the attackers. Also
\nconfiscated were a cellular phone, a walkie-talkie, an AK-47
\nmagazine with 60 bullets, a machinegun magazine with 29 bullets,
\na motorbike, and four cars: an Opel Blazer, a Taft Rocky, Taft GT
\nand Taft Hiline.<\/p>\n
Following Wiranto's promise to withdraw riot troops from
\nresidential areas, thousands of refugees began returning on
\nFriday to their homes in Aceh, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
\"Ever since General Wiranto said riot troops would be
\nretracted from rural areas in Pidie, North and East Aceh
\ndistricts, thousands of refugees have begun returning home,\"
\nPidie resident Tarmidin Usman was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Usman said about 40,000 residents in Pidie district's Ulee
\nGlee refugee center immediately began making preparations to
\nreturn home after hearing news of Wiranto's pledge.<\/p>\n
\"They all left simultaneously,\" Usman said, adding that
\nthousands more in Merdu subdistrict departed on Thursday for
\ntheir homes.<\/p>\n
Since May, an estimated 150,000 people have fled their
\nvillages fearing violence from soldiers and separatist rebels,
\npacking mosques and makeshift refugee centers in several Acehnese
\ntowns.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of buildings, including schools, have been set ablaze
\nby unidentified groups across Aceh. At least 228 people,
\nincluding soldiers and policemen, have also been killed.
\n(byg\/swe)<\/p>",
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