Military repeating old mistakes in Aceh: Researcher
YOGYAKARTA (JP): A continued military presence in Aceh will not only fail to end violence and terror, but will even worsen human rights abuses and prolong people's sufferings there, a researcher said.
The Director of the Center for Security and Peace Studies under the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Samsu Rizal Panggabean blamed President B.J. Habibie for giving excessive power to the military in handling Aceh problems without proper control.
"The domination of the military in handling Aceh under Habibie's administration has made a peaceful solution to Aceh even further from reality," Panggabean said in discussion on Aceh, organized by The Jakarta Post and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).
The scholar said the Indonesian Military (TNI) had failed to learn from its failure in the 1989-1998 military operations in Aceh and the deployment of Crack Riot Troops (PPRM). Citing the experiences of other countries, the scholar said military repressive practices would only trigger disintegration and separatist movements.
"Military repression by a country facing a disintegration threat, will accelerate separatism," Panggabean said.
Lance Castles, also a lecturer at UGM from the Australian National University, criticized the government for responding to the demands of Acehnese for justice, autonomy and a fairer distribution of wealth, with a military approach.
Castles also pointed out it would be difficult to create peace in Aceh, because both TNI, Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other separatist groups had "unrealistic demands" on their rivals.
He said it was not realistic for the separatist movement to demand for a total military withdrawal from the province and the trial of all military personnel involved in human rights abuses.
Meanwhile TNI and the government, Castles said, "look down on the significance and existence of the Aceh separatist movement and the government feels it is not proper for them to negotiate (with these groups) for a peaceful settlement to Aceh."
Also on Tuesday, another police member, Sgt. Maj. Tarigan, was shot and killed in Pidie regency and another, Sgt.Maj. Sartono, sustained critical shot wounds to his chest and back.
Both were brought to the Sigli hospital in Sigli, the capital of Pidie. TNI Commander Gen. Wiranto said last week 43 security personnel members have been killed in Aceh.
Pidie police chief Lt.Col. Endang E. Bagus said the incident took place at 5:30 p.m. at the police post in Melayu village in Indrajaya district, some eight kilometers to the west of Sigli.
"They were shot by unknown men on motorcycles and the weapon used has been identified as an FM-46," he said.
On Sunday an unidentified group burned down five houses in Tangse, Pidie whose owners were in refugee shelters. According to Rusli Bukhari, a refugee who only knew of the condition of their homes on Tuesday, the houses were set ablaze after the doors had been painted with red crosses by unknown people. The signs are warnings that the homes will be set on fire.
AFP reported Tuesday that two dead victims were found in the Bayu subdistrict, Lhokseumawe, late Monday. One had his throat slit and the other was shot in the back, rights activist and lawyer M. Yacob Hamzah said.
One of the victims was an imam of the local mosque while the other was a farmer from Meunasah Blang Kandang village, he said. (44/23/prb)