Appeal against Army plan in Aceh falls of deaf ears

Appeal against Army plan in Aceh falls of deaf ears

Annastashya Emmanuelle and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Pressures mounted on Tuesday against the planned reinstatement of
the military command in restive Aceh, but both the government and
the House of Representatives turned a deaf ear to the outcry.

In the latest move to foil the plan, a group of human rights
activists and political experts went to the House to remind both
the legislative and executive branches of the loss of thousands
of lives while the military operation was in effect from 1989 to
1998.

Data collected by the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) revealed that during 2001 alone,
851 civilians were killed and hundreds others injured despite the
current operation "to restore peace and order".

Kontras founder Munir criticized the government for ignoring
the calls by Acehnese people to bring to justice those members of
the military and other organizations involved in past human
rights abuses.

"People have been demanding justice in Aceh, so, why does the
government insist on reviving the military command?" Munir asked
the 10 members of House Commission I for defense affairs.

Instead of appreciating the group's concern, the legislators
prevented Munir from detailing the problematic activities
resulting from the presence of the military in Aceh.

"In this session, we will talk about the plan to revive the
military command. Let's focus on that matter," said Isaac
Latuconsina, the Military legislator who presided over the
hearing.

Rizal Sukma of the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS) added that he did not believe a militaristic
approach would resolve the conflict in Aceh.

He said the real problem facing Indonesia currently which the
military could help solve, was not related to internal threats,
but other issues such as sea piracy, illegal fishing and illegal
logging.

The idea to reinstate the military command was originally
raised by Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh several weeks ago. At a
cabinet meeting last week, the government instantly extended
support to that idea.

Meanwhile, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has instructed the
military chief and the defense minister to make final
preparations for the reestablishment of the military command in
Aceh.

The government found it necessary to reinstate the Iskandar
Muda military command to combat internal threats, such as the
armed separatist movement currently in Aceh, Minister of Defense
Matori Abdul Djalil said after a ministerial meeting on Tuesday.

"We decided to reestablish the Iskandar Muda military command.
The President has ordered the Defense Minister and the military
chief to make the necessary preparations," he said in a press
conference after a political and security meeting at the office
of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.

The date for the reinstatement has yet to be set, but Matori
said the plan would be implemented "as soon as possible".

Matori dismissed Acehnese opposition to Iskandar Muda, saying
that it is entirely the central government's authority to
establish defense, law, foreign relations as well as monetary
policies under the special autonomy status now in effect in Aceh.

Kusnanto Anggoro, analyst on military affairs also expressed
outright rejection to the plan.

In response to earlier statements that the decision was based
on Acehnese aspirations, he said that "this is not true."

"I suspect a collusion involving Governor Abdullah Puteh and
the Aceh provincial legislative council.

"What the Acehnese may refer to their needs of security may be
different from what a military command, in the form of which we
know, implies."

He added that to ensure security, "I agree with the deployment
of the military where necessary, but a Kodam in the form of a
permanent structure is in principle wrong."

The concepts of having provincial military commands "are
against principles of a democratic country."