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)