Doubts cloud Aceh military trial

Doubts cloud Aceh military trial

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Skepticism persists about the trial of 24
soldiers and a civilian charged in a mass killing in Aceh last
year as violence continued in the strife-torn province on
Thursday.

Member of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras) Munir said the joint military-civilian
tribunal now under way was aimed at placating the public while
shielding the real offenders from prosecution.

He said the disappearance of key suspect Lt. Col. Sudjono was
a proof.

"The trial will not touch government officials and military
top brass who should be held responsible for human rights abuses
in Aceh."

He said Sudjono's disappearance was irregular and the
commission obtained information it was politically orchestrated.

Munir said several eyewitnesses reported to the commission
that they saw Sudjono at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in
Jakarta on March 22, probably heading to Denpasar, Bali.

"Our witnesses even wrote down the license plate number of the
car that took Sudjono to the airport," Munir said.

In Aceh, protests marred the preparations for President
Abdurrahman Wahid's visit to Langsa, East Aceh, on Sunday.

Dozens of student activists rallied at the East Aceh
legislature, demanding Abdurrahman hold a referendum with the
option for independence.

"We want to remind Abdurrahman that the Acehnese only want a
referendum to decide the future of this province," Iskandar S.Y
of Samudera University said.

"He can pray anywhere he wants because the matter of Aceh
actually can be solved from Jakarta," another activist said.

Abdurrahman has ruled out submitting to the demand for
independence and repeatedly expressed guarded optimism of a quick
resolution of the discord.

East Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Abdullah Hayati said on
Thursday that more than 820 police and military personnel were
deployed for the President's visit.

Meanwhile in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, a group of 25
protesters marched to the gubernatorial office on Thursday
morning, demanding a thorough investigation into the killing of
at least 60 civilians in Simpang KKA in North Aceh on May 3 last
year.

Separately, head of the National Family Planning Board in Aceh
Risman Musa revealed that arson and bombing of its three
buildings caused total losses of Rp 6.5 billion.

A wave of arson and bombings have hit Aceh in the past few
weeks, targeting government offices, schools and security posts.

In the latest attacks, a gang of gunmen set on fire the
assistant regent's office in Mabaro, eight kilometers east of
Banda Aceh, early on Thursday, spokesman for the Sadar Rencong
antirebel operation Col. Safri D.M. said.

Late on Wednesday, an explosion rocked the Darussalam Police
post in Lambaro Angan, 12 kilometers east of Banda Aceh.

In West Aceh, two junior high schools were set ablaze by an
armed gang. No fatalities were reported in the incidents.
(44/50/51/edt)