Government under fire for breaking up rights training

Government under fire for breaking up rights training

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A coalition of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
lashed out at the government on Wednesday for not supporting
rights activists while carrying out their duties in war-torn
Aceh.

The province has been under martial law since May in an
attempt to defeat the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Ori Rahman of the Commission for Missing People and Victims of
Violence (Kontras) criticized the local security authorities who
had continued to bar rights activists from doing their jobs,
calling the move more proof of their lack of understanding of
human rights.

"We consider this action part of the security authorities'
effort to discourage activities related to human rights
protection," Ori said.

Criticism has been heaped on the government after no less than
60 armed police and civilians raided the Hotel Pavilion Seulawah
in Banda Aceh, where a training session for human rights monitors
was underway on Monday. The raid was apparently a response to an
order issued by the martial law administration, which deemed the
event illegal as it was being held without prior notification.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) member M. M.
Billah, who organized the training session, originally tried to
resist the police order but they finally made him quit.

"As a government-sanctioned body, Komnas HAM does not
necessarily need to ask for approval from the martial law
administrator to conduct any program here," Billah said.

Protests also came from the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute
(LBH), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsham),
and Impartial.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
sent on Wednesday a letter to President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
saying the police's move was unacceptable.

"The security authorities have shown their arrogance and they
do not even seem aware that they have violated the civilians'
freedom," PBHI said in a statement.

Martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya denied
allegations that he had banned Komnas HAM from organizing a human
rights training session. But he appealed to the rights body to
notify him of all activities beforehand.

Foreign journalists and non-governmental organizations have
been severely restricted from working in the province since
martial law took effect on May 19.