Military tribunal acquits soldiers of assaults charges

Teuku Agam Muzakkir and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh

The Banda Aceh military court in Lhokseumawe acquitted on Friday 12 soldiers charged with assaulting civilians during a hunt for members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) late August.

Military judge Maj. Trias Komara acknowledged that the soldiers had beaten up civilians in August, but said since the witnesses and some 50 civilian victims were unable to identify their attackers the defendants could not be held accountable for abusing these particular villagers.

"You indeed beat up civilians in Geulumpang Sulu Timur and Geulumpang Sulu Barat villages in late August. But, legally you cannot be held accountable since victims and witnesses cannot identify the attackers and the attackers cannot identify the victims," Trias told the court on Friday.

Outside the court, Trias told the soldiers not to repeat their offense because "it will only hurt the people".

The 12 soldiers, hailing from West Java-based 301 Battalion, were brought before the court on charges of assaulting around 50 residents of two villages in North Aceh in late August after they failed to provide information on the whereabouts of GAM regional commander Syaiful, alias Sipon Cina.

Military prosecutor Maryanto Bandji had recommended jail terms of up to three months for kicking and assaulting villagers with rifle butts and rattan sticks.

The Aceh military operation commander said on Friday that the soldiers would still face disciplinary punishment, ranging from administrative sanctions to 21 days confinement.

"If the commander (Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono) decides to impose the heaviest sentence, these soldiers will be jailed for about 21 days and not be allowed any visitors, including relatives," TNI spokesman Lt. Col. A. Yani Basuki said.

The military, which has a record of gross rights abuses in Aceh in the past, has cited a number of court-martials as evidence of its willingness to curb excesses in the months-long operation.

At least 304 civilians have died while hundreds of others have been wounded since Jakarta imposed martial law in the province on May 19.

Separately, two former GAM negotiators Teuku Kamaruzzaman and Nashirudin told the court in separate trials in Banda Aceh on Friday that the charges against them were trumped up because, as negotiators in talks with the Indonesian government, they had offered solutions to the Aceh problem.

"I cannot believe that such negotiation could lead to a conspiracy to commit acts of terror or treason against me," Kamaruzzaman told the Banda Aceh martial court on Friday as he read out his defense statement.

Kamaruzzaman was one of five GAM negotiators arrested on May 19, when a major military offensive against the guerrillas was launched.

Prosecutors are seeking a 16-year prison term for him.

Another GAM negotiator, Nashirudin bin Ahmed, told judges that he and his colleagues had "managed to reduce violence against Acehnese people" during their negotiations with Jakarta.

The court will issue a verdict on the five negotiators next week.

In another development, the Coalition of Antiviolence Toward Journalists met with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Friday to urge the commission to secure the release of civilians held hostage by GAM, including journalists Ersa Siregar and Ferry Santoro from RCTI private television station.

Ati Nurbaiti, chairwoman of the Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI), told the commission that she was concerned about the hostages.

"We are concerned about the condition of the hostages as the TNI and GAM are taking so long to agree on the conditions of their release. Even the International Federation of Journalists and other international press organizations have appealed for their release, with no result so far," she said.

Ansyari Thayib of Komnas HAM said that he would consider the request, but made no promises.

The TNI had offered to establish a "peace zone" for the release, but Ishak Daud, the GAM commander overseeing East Aceh and a man who has claimed responsibility for the capture of the civilians, insisted on Friday that he would only release the hostages if the military agreed to hold a two-day cease-fire.