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Sat, 14 Jul 2001

JP/Arrest of Aceh activist criticized

Arrest of Aceh activist criticized

JAKARTA (JP): Two non-governmental organizations strongly criticized on Friday the arrest of an Acehnese activist on Wednesday by the Aceh Besar Police, saying that the police had violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in a media release on Friday said the arrest of Kautsar was an arbitrary action by police that also violated the (Indonesian) Criminal Code.

"The police have also trespassed Paragraph 1, Article 9 of the Convention for Civil and Political Rights, which -- in short -- says that everybody has the right to individual security. Nobody is subject to arbitrary arrest or detention without acceptable legal reasons."

Kautsar Mohd. Yus, a son of the province's council speaker, was accused of instilling hatred toward the government during a rally against ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia.

"He has violated Articles 154 and 160 of the Criminal Code on spreading hatred against the government," Aceh Besar Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sayed Hoesainy said on Wednesday.

Kautsar, the chairman of the Central Committee of the Movement for Acehnese Democratic Struggle (FPDRA), was arrested along with Maimun Saleh and Muklis, who were released hours later.

The Jakarta office of FPDRA, in a written statement signed by Farhan, said that the arrest of Kautsar proved that democracy no longer existed in Aceh, as a result of the Indonesian government's militaristic policy.

"The arbitrary action was just police efforts to extinguish the Acehnese political aspirations and expressions," the FPDRA said.

The FPDRA also demanded that (Indonesian) Presidential Decree No. 4/2001 on military handling in Aceh be repealed. "The decree has provided the military and police with legal reasons to trample upon human values and has disrupted the settlement of Aceh's problems.

"We call on all components of the Indonesian people to continue their democratic fight against inhumane actions committed by the Indonesian government," the FPDRA said. (sur)