Missing persons' reports flood human rights office

Missing persons' reports flood human rights office

BANDUNG (JP): The newly created Office of the State Minister
of Human Rights Affairs has received some 3,000 reports of
missing persons, most of them alleged abductions in Aceh, East
Timor and Jakarta.

The office's third deputy, Asmar Oemar Saleh, said on Thursday
the missing persons' reports were part of a total of 4,000
submitted to the office in the past three and a half months.

Speaking at a human rights seminar at Padjadjaran University,
Asmar said there were restrictions on how his office could pursue
investigation of the reports.

"Unfortunately, we haven't been able to cope with the reports
as the government has not yet come up with a policy to handle
cases of missing persons," Asmar said.

"Moreover, most of the cases were quite vague and did not have
clear leads."

He said many of the disappearances occurred a long time ago.

"We haven't got any clear answers from both the governments of
Soeharto and Habibie about these cases, which occurred during
their tenure."

To address the institutional problems and lack of legal
instruments to tackle the reports, Asmar said the ministry would
hold a symposium next month to gather opinions on policies to
handle the missing persons' cases.

In a related development, the coordinator of the Commission
for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munir,
supported previous claims that the disappearance of Lt. Col.
Sudjono, a suspect in a mass shooting in Aceh, occurred to
"eliminate the link to his commanding officers".

"Sudjono was supposed to be protected as a key suspect and
witness by the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and the
attorney general. But now they don't know his whereabouts. It's
utterly puzzling.

"The authorities must take responsibility and take concrete
steps. Don't just say that he deserted."

He added that Kontras was also ready to provide legal counsel
to Sudjono's family because he presumably "went missing against
his will".

Munir said several Kontras activists were searching for
Sudjono in cities such as Banda Aceh, Medan and ones in West
Java, but to no avail.

Munir contended that Sudjono should be termed a "key witness"
rather than a "suspect" because his actions resulted from orders
from his commanders.

Sudjono was allegedly involved in the shooting death of
religious teacher Tengku Bantaqiah, his wife, his students and
dozens of farmers last year.

A government-sanctioned inquiry in December concluded they
were killed by soldiers.

Munir conceded that in processing and uncovering human rights
cases, priority was given to cases with higher political or
public visibility.

"East Timor has the top priority because it concerns the fate
of high-ranking officers threatened with a military tribunal.
While Aceh does not have such urgency."

Separately in Aceh, violence continued to rock the restive
province as Second Sgt. Heri Santoso of the Gegana Police Squad
was stabbed to death in an antirebel raid at a house in Ujong
Rimba village, Mutiara district, in Pidie on Thursday afternoon.

"The attacker hid on the roof and suddenly jumped off and
stabbed him in the heart with a rencong (dagger)," local police
chief Lt. Col. Endang Emiqail Bagus said.

In North Aceh, a military convoy consisting of one truck and
three vans was ambushed by an armed gang in Ulee Nyeue village of
Nisam district, located about 25 kilometers south of Lhokseumawe
on Wednesday night, leaving three soldiers wounded.

North Aceh Military chief Lt. Col. Suyatno, who was in the
convoy, said that dozens of attackers, brandishing M-16 and AK-47
semiautomatic rifles, attacked the group on the way home from
Bireun. "The gang, some of them spraying bullets from treetops,
fled the scene after a 15-minute gunfight," Suyatno said on
Thursday.

The wounded soldiers, identified as Cpl. Sanusi, Second Sgt.
Hasanuddin and Second Sgt. M. Kasim, were taken to Lilawangsa
military hospital for treatment.

Unconfirmed reports said an antirebel raid took place at
Krueng Tabe district in West Aceh on Thursday, leaving six people
dead. (01/25/50/51/edt)