Military warns of rising separatist sentiment
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo A.S. indicated the seriousness of rising separatist sentiments across the country and warned the threat of national disintegration was a very real one.
During a hearing with the House of Representative Commission I on security, foreign and political affairs, Widodo told legislators that these threats, such as those in Aceh and Irian Jaya, must be anticipated, prioritized and resolved as soon as possible.
"Such movements have become real threats: That is organized armed groups conducting insurgency activities such as terrorism, destruction of public and government facilities, kidnapping and murder," he said.
He said separatist rebels in Aceh had gained ground since the pullout of combat troops from the province earlier this month.
"Proindependence activists have been freely persuading local people to separate from the republic. Armed rebels have also increased their campaign of terror against the people and security forces," he added.
Combat troops, including units from the Army's Special Force and the Strategic Reserves Command, were withdrawn from Aceh earlier this month under the orders of the President, in an attempt to defuse tension in the province.
The province of Aceh has seen growing separatist sentiment in the past few months, with calls for a referendum becoming wider.
Widodo claimed that since August last year, when Jakarta lifted a decade of antirebel operations in Aceh, more than 259 people, including 88 security personnel, had been killed and nearly 300 more injured.
"This situation is aggravated by intervention from certain parties, both locally and from abroad, which has been promoting negative opinions and discrediting the government's efforts to settle the Aceh problem," Widodo said, without elaborating.
Widodo did not stop there and noted the potential for separatist tendencies in South Sulawesi, Riau and particularly the province of Maluku, where bloody communal violence has frequently flared since the beginning of the year.
"We cannot disregard the possibility that violence in Maluku could develop into a separatist movement, if the government is not serious in handling the case and allows the problem to drag on," he warned.
Although dialog and nonrepressive measures would be the primary course for resolving such disputes, Widodo warned that TNI "will take tough measures against separatism once it manifests into physical activities.
"There are demands that have been emerging and if they are reasonable, it is only fitting that we should answer them. But if the demands are unreasonable, such as independence or separating from the republic, it will be impossible for us to fulfill those demands," Widodo said.
Responding to criticism that much of the rising unrest may be in part be sparked by human rights abuses by military personnel, Widodo said such accusations should be followed up, however "we should be wise and objective which cases are resolved through legal means".
He asserted that the military would swiftly act on violators, noting that in the last year 151 cases involving soldiers have been tried.
Separately, Teuku Umar Military Commander Col. Syarifuddin Tippe said in Banda Aceh on Tuesday that he has asked military police to investigate allegations that six students grouped under the South Aceh Youth and Student Forum were detained and beaten by soldiers when trying to help refugees in Bakongan district in South Aceh last week.
The six students -- Zairi Karnaini, Muhammad Dinar, Achmad Fadli, Razikin, Rizal Sabri and Haikal -- went on Tuesday to the local chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights in Banda Aceh to submit a report on their abuse.
They said they were dragged to Bakongan Military office on Thursday afternoon, where they were stripped and beaten whilst being interrogated.
"We were told to stand in-line naked and they tied GAM (Free Aceh Movement) flags to our backs and took pictures of us," Haikal said.
Five of the students were later released around midnight on the same day, while Haikal was set free the next day.(50/edt/byg)