Investigation into massacre at Aceh plantation reopens
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A Jakarta-sanctioned commission to investigate human rights abuses at the Bumi Flora palm oil plantation in Aceh (KPP HAM Bumi Flora) is scheduled to reopen on Monday with the questioning of 17 witnesses in the murder of 31 civilians at the plantation last year.
Jusuf Puteh, coordinator of the East Aceh human rights office, said on Sunday that members of the commission, appointed by the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and led by BN Marbun, were slated to arrive in Langsa district in East Aceh regency on Monday.
Jusuf Puteh, popularly known as Neksuh, told Antara that his office had again summoned 17 witnesses, most of whom were spouses of the victims, and all of them had arrived in Langsa.
Results of the investigation by KPP Ham Bumi Flora will be submitted to the Attorney General's Office, which could take further legal action if there is enough evidence in the reports.
The massacre occurred in Idi Rayeuk district, East Aceh, in August 2001, when 31 workers at the palm oil plantation were shot to death while waiting for their salaries.
Both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) denied their involvement in the mass murder.
The Military accused GAM as the responsible party for the murder.
GAM, on the other hand, said the massacre was a result of TNI's anger over a GAM raid on a TNI post in the area, and as a vendetta, the TNI raided the plantation, where they found and shot dozens of people.
It was reported that seven of the workers managed to escape.
Collecting witnesses has been one of the major problems to solving human rights abuses in Aceh, as in 2000, the government claimed it had to discontinue several probes due to a reported lack of witnesses.
Many suspect that such witnesses "disappeared" because the perpetrators would like to cover up the many massacre cases in the restive province.
KPP HAM Bumi Flora started its probe on July 4, and conducted three days of investigation in Langsa. However, at the time, only two witnesses showed up for questioning.
Jusuf claimed that all 17 witnesses had expressed their intention to fulfill the summons for questioning starting on Monday.
He added that many of the witnesses had requested compensation from the government to help them financially after the deaths of their wage-earning husbands.