Aceh military compound hit by grenade attack

LHOKSEUMAWE, Aceh (JP): Five grenades hit a military complex containing air defense artillery just after midnight on Monday. There were no fatalities or injuries reported in the attack, an apparent reaction to last week's fatal shooting which claimed 41 lives.

The attack occurred as a team from the National Commission on Human Rights investigated alleged human rights violations in the May 3 clash which involved military troops and thousands of villagers from Krueng Geukueh, 15 kilometers west of here.

A 17-year-old youth identified as Nyak Wan was arrested for alleged espionage prior to the attack. He is now under police detention.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) blamed the incident on a separatist rebel group led by Hasan Tiro, who is in self-exile in Sweden. In a press release issued on Tuesday, the TNI information center said a search was underway for the attackers.

One of the grenades exploded near a missile arsenal, while the other grenades caused minor damage to a cooperative building and a meeting hall inside the complex.

The attackers also fired on a guard post and the officer dormitory before fleeing.

The chief of the Lilawangsa Military Command which oversees North Aceh, East Aceh and Pidie, Col. Johnny Wahab, said the attack was proof the rebel group possessed heavy arms. He said the grenades were possibly smuggled from abroad.

"Even Pindad (the state-owned arms producer based in Bandung) cannot produce them," he said.

The commander of the artillery detachment, Maj. Santun, told a local reporter the grenades could have destroyed the North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe if they hit the missile control system. The attackers apparently used a rocket launcher to fire the grenades, according to Santun.

Santun said there was evidence the attack was planned by the separatist rebel group. He said his troops observed Nyak Wan walking around the military complex since 11 a.m. on Monday.

"Learning from the bloody clash last week and the attack today, it looks like that the separatist rebel group is moving closer to its main target of destroying the military installation here," he said.

Two of five members of the rights commission team, Koesparmono Irsan and Said Agil Siradj, went to the military complex after meeting with Johnny, Regent Tarmizi A. Karim, North Aceh Military Commander Lt. Col. Giyono, North Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Iskandar Hasan and speaker of the regency legislature Mas Tarmansyah.

In an earlier meeting with Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud, members of the rights body watched a video tape of the May 3 clash. It was unclear, however, who videotaped the incident, Antara reported.

The video shows women and children bleeding on the ground and screams for help are heard amid the chaos.

Team leader Koesparmono said human rights violations obviously took place during the fatal shooting, evidenced by the fact that a number of villagers were shot although they were already lying on the ground.

"Many innocent people, women and children who deserved protection from the military, fell victim in the incident. They carried batons or machetes, but were met with bullets," Koesparmono said.

Koesparmono and his team also visited some of the 44 victims being treated in local hospitals. The death toll from the shooting has reached 41 as of Sunday night. More than 100 people were injured in the incident.

The leader of a local fact-finding team, TS Sani, said at least 12 people were still missing as of Tuesday.

The rights body team will return to Jakarta on Wednesday and is expected to complete its report by next week, according to Koesparmono.

Meanwhile, in addition to the two battalions of riot troops deployed here, TNI will send dozens of high-ranking military and police officers, mostly natives of Aceh, to the troubled province. The team, led by the secretary-general of the Ministry of Defense and Security, Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi, is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

In Jakarta, Catholic priest and social worker Sandyawan Sumardi refused a government award presented on Tuesday for National Social Solidarity Day to protest "the government's lack of political will in stopping violence in Aceh and East Timor".

In Bandung, Minister of Defense and Security/TNI Commander Gen. Wiranto joined the chorus of those blaming the separatist rebel group under Hasan Tiro for the unrest in Aceh. (43/amd)