13 go missing, during unrest, activists say
JAKARTA (JP): Security forces have "arbitrarily" arrested more than 900 people in a recent spate of unrest, during which 13 people went missing, rights activists said here yesterday.
At least five people have been killed and another 10 sustained bullet wounds in rioting over soaring prices and shortages of basic commodities in more than 20 towns and cities across the country in the last two weeks, they alleged.
The Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) and Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy said in a joint statement yesterday that two activists from different non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and 11 students, including six from East Timor, were missing.
The military could not be reached for comment about the allegations yesterday. However, earlier press reports have said that some of the people arrested in various rioting sites had been released. The rights activists made no mention about those already released.
The East Timorese went missing in Surabaya and the other five university students disappeared in the West Java province town of Garut on Feb. 17, they alleged.
Early this month
The two NGO activists went missing in Jakarta early this month.
Pius Lustrilanang, 30, the secretary-general of Siaga -- a loose association which supports self-styled presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and government critic Amien Rais -- was last seen after visiting a relative at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta on Feb. 4.
Desmon J. Mahesa, 33, director of the Nusantara Legal Aid Foundation, was last seen on Feb. 3, a day after he was visited by military intelligence agents, according to his associates.
Activists have said they suspect the military was behind the disappearance of the two activists.
The rights organizations said 13 people were shot by security forces during riots in Central Java and West Java last week. Three died and the remainder sustained a variety of injuries, some serious.
The two other fatalities were shot dead during a riot in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, the activists quoted security forces as saying earlier.
At least 921 people have been arrested during the unrest, mostly in the provinces of West Java and Central Java, the activists said.
The Armed Forces has vowed to take stern action against rioters for fear they may disrupt the country's preparations in the run-up to the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) between March 1 and March 11.
Some local military chiefs have issued a shoot-on-sight order for personnel dealing with spreading unrest.
The military has said its troops were acting in self-defense when they shot and killed five alleged rioters, who threatened them with weapons, including machetes. (byg)