Military accused of war crimes

JAKARTA (JP): The military killing, raping and torture of civilians in Aceh this past decade amounted to "war crimes" committed on the orders of the top leadership, according to a finding of an independent inquiry.

The Independent Inquiry into the Violence in Aceh made public its finding on Tuesday, calling on the government to question all the military top brass involved in crafting the military policy in Aceh since 1989.

The commission said most of the violence was committed by members of Kopassus, the Army's elite crack force, although it also named other units responsible for the atrocities.

Taken as a whole, from the time of the military operation in 1989, "then the perpetrators were conducting war crimes upon the orders of their superiors", the commission said.

It named all the number one chiefs of the Indonesian Military (TNI) since then, from Gen. Try Sutrisno (1988-93), Gen. Edi Sudradjat (1993), Gen. Feisal Tanjung (1993-98) and Gen. Wiranto (1998-last month), among those who should be held responsible for initiating or sustaining the military operations in the province.

All but Wiranto, who is now coordinating minister for political affairs and security, have retired from active service. Try was vice president from 1993-98.

Topping the commission's list is Ibrahim Hasan, the civilian governor of Aceh in 1989 who requested the military operation to quell an armed separatist group.

The commission shied away from fully naming the guilty soldiers and the officers responsible for military policies and operations; it only gave their initials, ranks and years of service, but it was easy to guess to whom these initials belonged.

"We don't have the authority to disclose their names to the public," commission secretary Rosita S. Noer told reporters.

The report said all seven chiefs of the Bukit Barisan Command -- overseeing Northern Sumatra, including Aceh -- over the past 10 years, and all the nine chiefs of the Lilawangsa Command -- with jurisdiction over Aceh -- should be questioned. The latter group includes Syarwan Hamid, who was chief from 1990-91, and was home affairs minister until last month.

The report distinguished those who committed the crimes (pelaku), and those who crafted the policies (penanggung jawab).

While calling for the establishment of a special court to try those who had committed the atrocities, it said the government should investigate those who were responsible for the policies.

Among the most senior officer recommended for immediate trial was Col. Johny Wahab, who was Lilawangsa chief in May. He was suspected to be responsible for the military raid at Simpang KKA in May in which 39 civilians were killed and 125 others injured.

Another was Col. Syafnil Armen, Lilawangsa chief in July, in connection with the raid at the Islamic boarding school in Blan Meurandeh Beuton, West Aceh, in which 65 civilians were killed.

"Hopefully the trials can start in less than two weeks," Rosita said.

The commission said it had gone public with its findings because it was disappointed with the lack of response from the government in the two weeks since it had submitted the report.

The inquiry, commissioned by then president B.J. Habibie in July, is led by Amran Zamzami. Its members include Aceh figures and representatives from the Attorney General's Office and the Military Police.

Evidence

The commission focused its investigation on five cases for which there was sufficient evidence to start a court trial:

* The rape of a woman in Pidie in 1996 who subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to a child.

* Disappearances, tortures and kidnappings between 1997 and 1998 as related to the use of Rumah Geudong, known to local people as the slaughter house. The commission has the names of five victims.

* The killing of seven people in Idi Cut allegedly by members of the Airborne 100 unit in February 1999. Their bodies were later dumped over a bridge.

* The shooting, allegedly by Lilawangsa Command's Missile Detachment 001, at Simpang KKA in May 1999; 39 civilians were killed and 125 others injured.

* The shooting at the Muslim boarding school, Teungku Bantaqiah, in Blan Meurandeh, Beutong, in July 1999; 65 civilians, who were attending a Koranic recital, were killed.

The report, drawing on testimony by survivors, victims and witnesses, gave grisly details of some of the torture methods employed, including rape, gang rape, and the raping of women before their husbands and children.

The violence in Aceh was the result of both wrongful procedures and wrong government policies, the commission said.

"That this was a mistake became clearer when the military failed to review its policy even as the excesses of the First Red Net Operation -- conducted by elite forces, especially Kopassus -- such as wrongful arrest, rape, killing and torture became known," it said.

"From cultural, political, economic and social standpoints, the military operation was a`political conspiracy' by the political elite against the people of Aceh," it said.

Separately, a special team of the House of Representatives investigating the Aceh atrocities said on Tuesday it would summon former defense minister Gen. (ret.) L.B. Moerdani as well as Try Sutrisno and Feisal Tanjung to explain their roles in planning the military operations in Aceh.

The three men were expected to testify on Saturday, Teuku Syaiful Ahmad, a member of the team told reporters.

The team has also summoned Maj. Gen (ret.) Pramono, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Syarwan Hamid, Maj. Gen. Zaky Anwar Makarim and former Aceh governor Ibrahim Hasan.

Syaiful said the team might summon former president Soeharto, who was supreme commander of the military. (04/02/emb)