Human rights monitors under pressure to leave Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Most of the human rights workers in Aceh feel threatened with arbitrary arrest if they try to continue working in war-torn Aceh as the martial law administration in the province has alleged that they are involved with armed separatists.

Several have already fled to other cities outside the province, including Jakarta, to seek protection.

"Many activists from Aceh, including some of our volunteers, have already moved here as their safety in Aceh has been under threat," said Usman Hamid, the chairman of the Commission for Victims of Violence and Missing Persons (Kontras).

The military administration, he said, could arbitrarily "pick up the activists", similar to the military operation since 1989 to 1998 with many of the same people.

Some human rights monitors in Aceh told The Jakarta Post earlier that the military administration had targeted them as soon as their campaign to uproot the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began.

The troops would raid the offices of human rights oriented nongovernmental organizations and detain the activists without evidence of a crime, said one of the activists on Tuesday.

"During the detention, they were often assaulted by the officers and threatened in a bid to make them plead guilty to something," the activist added.

Lawyers are also barred from accompanying any of the monitors during questioning, a part of legal process which is required by the Criminal Code Procedure.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) ad hoc team to monitor the military operation in Aceh, which has conducted preliminary investigations over possible rights violations in the province, confirmed that there had been arbitrary arrests of activists and that they had the right to be accompanied by lawyers during interrogation by the military.

Worse, lawyers are also being intimidated by military officers.

"I came to Aceh to meet and represent my client, Cut Nur Asikin, who requested my assistance. But military officers there told me that the martial law ruler would not permit me. Later in the day, a team of officers raided my hotel room," said lawyer Johnson Panjaitan, who is also the deputy chairman of the Indonesia Legal Aid and Human Rights Institute (PBHI).

Johnson lost some documents during the raid which was launched "to seek banned drugs and marijuana", last month. Cut is a leader of a nongovernmental organization in Aceh which deals with women's issues. Police charged her with being the leader of Inong Balee, GAM's female military wing.

At least 10 known activists have chosen to seek protection in Jakarta. Unfortunately, Jakarta is not free from intimidation either, particularly for those who happen to be Acehnese.

"Our colleagues from Aceh must stay in different locations here as their neighborhood unit leaders often question them. Even their relatives feel afraid of making contact with them," said Usman, adding that Kontras was frequently threatened by unidentified parties.

Last month, the Kontras office in Jakarta was attacked by an organized mob of 100 staunch nationalists who condemned the institution for criticizing the government's actions in Aceh.

Separately, City Governor Sutiyoso called on Jakartans to stay alert for "possible terrorist acts by GAM members" against public places and vital assets in the city.

"Please, keep vigilant as GAM members here may have prepared an attack or may sabotage key areas in the capital where we let our guard down," Sutiyoso told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.

Sutiyoso claimed that GAM members might have already infiltrated the area disguised as refugees who have recently come from the province.

Sutiyoso added that he had not instructed his subordinates to target Acehnese people here.

"There is no such policy. But there might be some technical problems in the field," he explained.