Aceh shooting toll reaches 28

JAKARTA (JP): The death toll from the military shootings in North Aceh on Monday rose to 28, while at least 100 others were seriously injured. Television stations ran on Tuesday gruesome footage of thousands of Lhokseumawe residents fleeing in panic and bloodied victims keeling over.

A local Indonesian Red Cross team continued on Tuesday its search for more victims, as non-governmental organizations estimated as many as 65 people were killed when Army personnel opened fire on protesters. The youngest victim is a six-year-old boy, Saddam Husen, while the oldest victim is 60-year-old Mahmuddin.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) insisted the casualty figure was 18 while maintaining 81 others suffered various degrees of injuries.

Meanwhile, a fact-finding mission from the National Commission on Human Rights will leave for the troubled province next Monday to investigate the violence, officials said on Tuesday.

"We have been able to confirm that 19 people were brought dead to or died at the hospitals, while nine more died at their homes and were not taken to hospital," Edward Syamsuddin, secretary of the Red Cross in North Aceh, told The Jakarta Post by phone from the North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe.

Edward added that at least 100 more people were seriously injured and another 15 were slightly injured.

Troops on Monday opened fire on thousands of protesters blocking a junction in Krueng Geukueh village, some 15 kilometers west of Lhokseumawe.

The incident was the latest in a succession of violence prompted by clashes between the military and referendum campaigners in the troubled province.

"The number of casualties could be higher as the Red Cross team, students and locals are still on the ground searching for more victims," Edward said.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) cited reports and witnesses that the death toll may have reached 65, although its members had only seen 23 bodies.

Meanwhile, Clementino dos Reis Amaral, secretary-general of the rights body, told the Post on Tuesday that commission members Koesparmono Irsan and Said Agil Siradj will leave for Aceh on Monday or Tuesday to investigate the incident.

Mulya A. Hasjmy, head of Lhokseumawe General Hospital, said that as of Tuesday, at least 51 people were still being treated at the hospital.

"At least 58 people, including five dead people, were admitted to the hospital on Monday and two of them were discharged earlier in the afternoon," Mulya told the Post.

Of those who were still being treated in hospital, 30 had undergone surgery on Monday, Mulya said.

"Seven are in a critical condition and four of them have been transferred to (provincial capital) Banda Aceh and Medan (North Sumatra)," Mulya said.

He said three more people would be transferred from Arun Hospital to Lhokseumawe General Hospital for surgery on Tuesday afternoon.

Mulya said the hospital was running short of anesthetic, high- dose antibiotics and sutures due to the large number patients needing surgery on Monday.

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate in Lhokseumawe, Philippe Beauverd, who had met with Mulya on Monday, told the Post on Tuesday the organization will try to meet those shortages.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto promised on Tuesday to launch an investigation into the shootings.

"We really regret what happened in Aceh," Wiranto was quoted as saying by Antara after attending an Air Force ceremony at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport.

He declined to comment further, saying the military was investigating the shooting and an official report would be issued.

Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer on Tuesday urged troops and police to show restraint in Aceh.

Downer was quoted by AFP as saying he could not verify the deaths reported by human rights groups, but had no doubt scores had been killed in the incident.

"What we can be sure of is that people have lost their lives," he was quoted as saying.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif said in a statement on Tuesday the first shots were fired Monday from the crowd, and return shots were fired by soldiers in self-defense.

He was quoted by Antara as saying the incident was caused by a "misunderstanding".

Syamsul said the residents thought their village was going to be attacked by members of the guided missile detachment, who were in Cut Murong searching for a fellow soldier who was captured by villagers during a Free Aceh movement rally on Saturday.

Because of this perceived threat, about 7,000 villagers then attacked the detachment headquarters, as Syamsul described it.

But Kontras coordinator Munir said troops fired at the crowd after some of the protesters began to pelt them with stones.

The crowd had intended to protest over violence by soldiers at Cut Murong during a house search by troops, Kontras said.

Mulya said Lhokseumawe was calm on Tuesday, and transportation, shops and businesses were already running.

"But the hospital today is packed with dozens of people who are looking for their relatives," Mulya said.

The city, near the Arun gas field, has seen several mass street protests since last month, mostly in support of a self- determination referendum for Aceh.

Two people were killed when soldiers shot into a crowd of about 1,000 protesters there last month.

President B.J. Habibie, in his first visit to Banda Aceh in March, promised an inquiry into human rights violations during a decade-long military operation, beginning in 1989, to quell a separatist movement.

He said civilian or military offenders would be taken to court, but brushed aside calls for a referendum on self- determination. (21/43/byg)