Inquiry faults generals for Aceh atrocities

Inquiry faults generals for Aceh atrocities

JAKARTA (JP): A state-funded inquiry has determined that top
active and retired Army generals gave the orders for many of the
atrocities committed by the military in Aceh in the past decade.

Their names will not be made public until after the findings
by the Independent Investigation Commission on Atrocities in Aceh
are presented in a 484-page report to President Abdurrahman Wahid
on Wednesday.

"We have enough evidence and the identities of the personnel
who perpetrated the violence. Those from the military and police
were easier to identify from their name tags, units and
divisions," commission secretary Rosita S. Noer told The Jakarta
Post.

The report lists generals, both active and retired, who gave
the orders, Rosita said.

She refused to disclose further details.

The commission will call on the government to immediately
begin special tribunals for the perpetrators, she added.

"We want this report to be read and then acted upon. We know
that the Abdurrahman administration deplores violence and
therefore we expect it to have the political will to act.

"Let's hope this findings will not end up like the report
about the mid-May riots," she said, referring to the May 1998
unrest in Jakarta which contributed to Soeharto resigning from
the presidency.

That investigation found irregularities in the conduct of the
military in Jakarta, and called for further investigation by the
government and the military. The previous government of president
B.J. Habibie ignored the findings and recommendations.

Head of the independent inquiry into the violence in Aceh,
Amran Zamzami, said the commission gathered sufficient evidence
indicating the involvement of several high-ranking officers.

Amran said the investigation learned of thousands of violent
acts committed in Aceh when the province was put under a special
military operation zone between 1989 and 1998. The inquiry
extended to incidents that occurred as late as June this year.

"There were hundreds or even thousands of cases that were
reported by individuals, but we focused our inquiry on several
major cases. We obtained thorough testimony from witnesses and
victims, and verified the evidence with the authorities."

Major cases investigated included the abductions and killings
in Rumoh Geudong (dubbed by locals the "slaughterhouse") in
Pidie, shootings in Cot Murong in North Aceh in May 1999 and the
killing of Teungku Bantaqiah and his followers in Blang Meurandeh
village in Beutong, West Aceh, in July 1999.

The 27-member commission, which was established in July,
focused its investigation in Pidie, East, West and North Aceh.

Rosita and Amran said that a tribunal for the perpetrators
would go a long way in reducing tensions in Aceh.

Harrowing and grisly details of the military operation emerged
only in August last year, nine years after it began, when
survivors and relatives of the victims began to speak up.

Their disclosures led to a massive outcry against the military
and Gen. Wiranto, then chief of the Indonesian Military, who
immediately terminated the military operation and traveled to the
province to formally apologize to the people.

Violence continued nevertheless while demands by the Acehnese
for a tribunal for the military commanders responsible for the
atrocities were largely ignored.

The military operation was launched in response to the growing
activity of the armed separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The
request for more troops was made by then governor Ibrahim Hasan
after an armed group reportedly seized 21 weapons and killed 20
military personnel.

The National Commission on Human Rights, which launched its
investigation in Aceh last year, said it received reports that
more than 39,000 people died in military operations over the past
decade.

Meanwhile, the rector of state-run Syarif Hidayatullah
Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN), Azyumardi Azra, said the
Indonesian Military must be prepared to "sacrifice" its members
who were responsible for the atrocities.

"If the military allows the tribunals to take place, then
maybe the people of Aceh will believe in the government's
goodwill," Azyumardi told the Post. (emf/04)