No peace in Aceh without rights tribunal, activists maintain

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh

The Indonesian Military (TNI) wants to bury the hatchet following the Aceh peace agreement but human rights activists are seeking the trial of all past human rights abusers in Aceh.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said the government will propose a reconciliation between the Acehnese people and the security authorities, instead of taking the human rights abusers to court, in the spirit of the peace accord.

"Given the peace agreement's spirit of truth and justice, the possible trial of abusers should also be evenhanded ... but thus far, there has yet to be a mechanism to take to court GAM members who also committed acts of violence against civilians.

"The government did not close its eyes to these cases. In certain instances, military officers have been punished for their violations," Susilo said.

A number of low-ranking soldiers who killed dozens of students at an Islamic Boarding School in Beutang Ateuh in 1999 have already been jailed.

He said that human rights violations that occurred in the past would be resolved via reconciliation under Acehnese traditional custom and sharia law.

"There will be a mechanism to settle human rights abuses ... in the case of gross violations of human rights there will be a fair trial before reconciliation is achieved," he said.

More than 10,000 Acehnese people, mostly civilians, were killed during 26 years of conflict, especially during the military operation between 1989 and 1999.

The minister said that the government would cooperate with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and other non- government organizations to determine the form of the settlement.

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh was of the same opinion, saying, "Under sharia, life could be paid with life as compensation, but punishment could be avoided should victims' families accept perpetrators' pleas for forgiveness," he said.

Syaifuddin and Muhammad Nazar, two human rights activists in Banda Aceh, demanded a fair trial of all security personnel who had abused Acehnese people's human rights, saying that peace would fail to materialize in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province unless human rights abusers were brought to justice.

Syaifuddin, also executive director of the Human Rights Foundation (YPHAM), rejected the government's proposal, saying the Acehnese people would seek the trial of human rights abusers through the planned all-inclusive dialog.

Muhammad Nazar, chairman of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), warned the government not to forget human rights abuses, despite the signing of the cessation of hostility agreement, saying, "We should put all sins and violations behind us but we should not forget them to avoid committing similar sins in the future."

Aceh politician Gazhali Abbas concurred, saying, "We would only be creating a pseudo-peace and be waiting for a new and major conflict," he said.

The trial of human rights violations will likely face a fate similar to the trial of human rights abuses in East Timor, as the two cases involved military and police officials.

Almost all military, police and civilian officials charged with failing to prevent the 1999 East Timor violence were acquitted of the charges.

International pressure on the government to try human rights cases has subsided, as democratic and developed countries are focusing their attention on the global war against terrorism.