Beutong incident victims given proper burial

Beutong incident victims given proper burial

JAKARTA (JP): Mourning relatives dug up on Wednesday the
graves of 31 civilians shot dead by troops on Friday in what the
Indonesian Military described as an armed contact with separatist
rebels in Beutong, West Aceh regency.

The remains of former political prisoner Tengku Bantaqiah, who
was also a suspected rebel leader, and his wife were given proper
burial along with those of other victims.

West Aceh Regent Nasrudin told Antara that a number of Beutong
residents asked the victims be given a proper burial. Local
officials, foreign and domestic journalists and human rights
activists were present at the funeral.

Col. Syarifuddin Tippe, chief of the Teuku Umar Military
Command which oversees West Aceh, Central Aceh, South Aceh,
Southeast Aceh and Greater Aceh, earlier said he had sent a
special team to investigate the incident.

The development came at about the same time that members of
the movement seeking independence for Aceh province from
Indonesia met informally with Indonesian businessmen and
academics in Stockholm, Sweden. But the movement's leader
declined to participate.

"It's the wrong men who have come here. They have nothing to
offer and I'm not considering meeting with them," Hasan Tiro, the
leader of the Free Aceh Movement, told the Swedish news agency TT
on Tuesday.

But other Stockholm-based members of the group met with the
delegation for unofficial talks on Monday and more meetings were
expected this week, TT said.

"At the meeting, we agreed the Indonesian Military must leave
Aceh and that the conflict there must be solved by peaceful
means. But there are obstacles on the road," Free Aceh member
Jusuf Daud was quoted as saying by TT.

It was unclear how much influence the five-person visiting
group from Indonesia wields.

"The group that came here denies that they have an assignment
from the authorities and say they represent private groups.
Nonetheless, I think they had contact with the provincial
governor in Aceh," Daud was quoted as saying.

Tiro, who lives in a Stockholm suburb, fled Indonesia in 1979.
He said no negotiations were possible unless the Indonesian
government agrees to independence for Aceh.

Almost 100,000 villagers have fled the intensifying clashes in
the region, human rights activists said.

Though the military say "only 31" civilians were killed,
rights activists say the number was as high as 41.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Maarif enumerated on Tuesday a
series of incidents happening in Aceh over the past few days
showing increased terrorist activity by armed security disturber
gangs (GBPK).

Two workers of state telecommunications company Telkom were
kidnapped on July 24 in Blang Bidok village, Tanah Luas
subdistrict, North Aceh regency, when they were installing a
telephone line to the house of a local resident.

On the same day, a farmer identified as Ismail, 45, was shot
by an armed gang at Teupin Panah, Kawai XVI subdistrict in West
Aceh.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives filed for deliberation
on the special province of Aceh on Wednesday. United Development
Party (PPP) faction spokesman H.M. Kaoy Syah, who hails from
Aceh, introduced the bill in a plenary session.

The bill strives to stipulate a special autonomy for Aceh
regarding four issues: the observance of religious principles,
the observance of the province's cultural traditions, education
and the role of ulemas in the regional policy making activities.

One of the chapters, for instance, authorizes the Aceh
provincial administration to introduce local content into the
national school curriculum. Another chapter says the provincial
administration, with approval of the provincial legislative
council, has the authority to establish independent advisory
councils manned by ulemas. (swe/05)