Another policeman killed in Aceh

Another policeman killed in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): An unidentified group of men killed a police
officer on Friday night in Dewantara district, Lhokseumawe, North
Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal said on Saturday.

Syafei said the killers slit Corp. Ali Rachman Siregar's
throat while he was sleeping in his house.

"Dewantara is very volatile. We still cannot identify the
killers, but I will not let the killers remain free after killing
my officer," Syafei told The Jakarta Post from Lhokseumawe.

Minister of Defense and Security/Indonesian Military Commander
Gen. Wiranto said on Friday 43 security personnel had been killed
recently in Aceh.

Syafei also confirmed reports arsonists burned on Saturday a
small warehouse in the Arun gas field in North Aceh, which is
operated and partly owned by Mobil Corp., the American oil
company based in Fairfax, Virginia.

He did not specify the building's contents, but said it was
rarely used.

Last week Gen. Wiranto said Crack Riots Troops would only
guard vital projects, in the face of allegations that they were
involved in abuse against civilians.

Syafei blamed armed separatist groups for the arson, refuting
allegations the military was responsible for the blaze.

"This irresponsible group continues to terrorize people.
Allegations that the warehouse was burned by police or military
personnel are impossible, because our duty is to guard vital
locations," he said.

Police said here earlier this month separatists threatened to
blow up the Arun natural gas refinery in Lhokseumawe.

Syafei also said police had yet to identify four bodies found
in Bireun, about 60 kilometers west of Lhokseumawe. They were
found on Wednesday in front of a government office with gunshot
wounds and their throats cut.

According to residents, one of the dead was a villager seized
by soldiers during a military sweep on Wednesday.

Separately, President B.J. Habibie met on Saturday with
members of the newly established Independent Commission to
Investigate Atrocities in Aceh, and assured them the team would
be fully independent in probing human rights abuses in the
province.

Team chairman Amran Zamzami said his team would be able to
follow up its findings, including evidence directly related to
government offices.

"This independent commission has the authority to monitor
whether the cases are followed up or just put on hold," Amran
said after he and 26 other commission members met with the
President at Merdeka Palace.

Habibie officially established the commission on July 30. Its
members include Rosita S. Noer, National Police officer Maj. Gen.
Marwan Paris, rights activist Abdul Gani Nurdin and the winner of
the 1998 Yap Thiam Hien human rights award, Farida Hariyani.

Amran, an Acehnese, is the patron of the Indonesian Contract
Bridge Association, which is chaired by Gen. Wiranto. Rosita and
Marwan were members of the Joint Fact-Finding Team which
investigated last year's May riots.

Farida, 34, has assisted widows and orphans who were victims
of the 1989 to 1998 military operations in Aceh.

"This is my last hope regarding the government upholding
justice in Aceh," Farida said of the team.

The National Commission on Human Rights initially refused to
sit on the team, because Gen. Wiranto had said the team would
only investigate alleged abuses committed after the military
operations in the province ended in 1998.

The presidential decree on the independent team did not place
any time restrictions on the team's investigations.

Previous fact-finding teams in Aceh, including one from the
National Commission on Human Rights, have reported their results
to the government. However, Habibie continues to be criticized
for failing to meet his promise to the Acehnese that those guilty
of abuses in the province would be brought to justice.

The rights body reported the military operations resulted in
at least 781 dead, 3,000 widows and up to 20,000 orphans.

Rosita was confident the independent commission, scheduled to
meet with Acehnese leaders next Thursday in Aceh, would come up
with concrete results.

Habibie will also send several ministers to Aceh later this
week. (prb)