Kontras counters Wiranto statement on Aceh victims

Kontras counters Wiranto statement on Aceh victims

JAKARTA (JP): Leading rights activist Munir shot back at Armed
Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto yesterday for speculating that
human remains unearthed recently from mass graves in Aceh could
have been victims of the turmoil following the 1965 communist
coup attempt.

"It's not possible since none of the victims (of the outlawed
Indonesian Communist Party) were buried. All of them were dumped
into the sea," said Munir, who is the coordinator of the
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

According to local testimony, he said, the victims in 1965
were dumped into the Kuala Langsa and Ulele seas, respectively
off of Banda Aceh and East Aceh.

Munir said there was, so far, no record of the number of
victims killed in 1965. He only said that many people were killed
by the military in its campaign to quash the communists there.

On Wednesday, Wiranto criticized the National Commission on
Human Rights for publicizing its findings on the alleged number
of victims of rights violations in Aceh over the last decade
without checking with the military first.

Wiranto also said he doubted the military had been responsible
for the number of victims stated by the commission. The figures
were based only on the remains excavated last week, he said,
adding that some of the bones could have been from victims of the
communist uprising.

Yesterday, it was Munir's turn to criticize Wiranto. He said
the general's statement was "surprising".

"He shouldn't have said that at a time when people are
demanding that the government disclose any atrocities committed
by the military," he said.

He argued that Wiranto's statement was a defensive reaction
and counterproductive to the efforts aimed at unveiling past
military atrocities.

"The campaign to reveal alleged abuses committed by the
military between 1990 and 1998 in Aceh...is not meant to place
the Armed Forces (ABRI) in a corner," Munir said.

"The attempts are part of our respect to humanity," he added.

The National Commission on Human Rights announced Monday that
at least 782 people were killed, 368 tortured, 168 reported
missing, 3,000 women widowed and between 15,000 to 20,000
children orphaned during the nine years of military operations
against a local separatist movement between 1989 and this year.

In 1990, Amnesty International and the Legal Aid Foundation
(YLBHI) said at least 1,000 people were detained and tortured in
unknown places in Aceh. Up until 1991, they reported that 2,000
civilians, including women and children, were killed in mass
executions or through detention. (emf)