Acehnese refugees seek safety assurances from HDC
Acehnese refugees seek safety assurances from HDC
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Some 500 Acehnese taking refuge in Banda Aceh staged a
demonstration on Tuesday demanding that the Henry Dunant Centre
(HDC), which is facilitating the peace process in the province,
give safety assurances for them to return home.
The refugees, who hail from villages in Takengon, Central
Aceh, came to the city last Saturday saying they were the victims
of intimidation by pro-Jakarta militiamen.
They refugees are refusing to go home unless the HDC assures
them of their safety from intimidation by the militiamen.
In a pattern reminiscent of what happened in Indonesia's
former East Timor province, many people in Aceh complain about
frequent intimidation by militiamen, whom they accuse of being
deployed by the local military to prevent the people from
providing support to the rebels.
Jaliman, a resident of Timang Gajah in Central Aceh, said that
he and the other refugees had been forced to flee due to the
terror and intimidation being perpetrated by the militiamen.
"There are some 4,000 militiamen in the district and one of
them is my younger brother," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said he had no home to live in anymore as his house had
been burned down by the militia.
He explained that the pro-Jakarta militia had burned down at
least 70 houses belonging to locals.
Safrizal, another resident of Timang Gajah, concurred and said
the militia was set up by migrants in 1999 to help the local
military quell the separatist movement.
The refugees called on the HDC to reactivate its peace mission
in Central Aceh and to investigate the activities of the militia.
The tripartite monitoring team's office in Takengon was
damaged when hundreds of people, mostly transmigrants and
militiamen, staged a demonstration on March 3 ostensibly
demanding that the HDC deal with all complaints on violations of
the peace accord and alleged extortion by rebels in the regency.
The demonstration turned violent, with the demonstrators throwing
stones at the monitoring team's offices and burning three cars.
Two members of the monitoring team were injured in the incident.
The local military and GAM have traded accusations regarding
responsibility for the incident.
Predictably, the military has several times denied any
involvement in the incident and insisted that it is strongly
committed to ending the conflict and creating peace in the
province.
Safrizal and Jaliman said they understand why the HDC might be
reluctant to reopen its office in Takengon for the time being.
Maj. Eddy Fernandy, a spokesman for the military's Aceh
security restoration operation, admitted the presence of armed
civilians in the regency but said they were not militiamen.
They hate GAM but they are not militia, he insisted.