Aceh shooting toll reaches 28

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)