Rights activists denounce grave excavations by military

Rights activists denounce grave excavations by military

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Human rights activists denounced the excavation of mass graves in
Aceh by the Indonesian Military (TNI), saying it violated normal
investigation procedures for possible gross violations of human
rights.

Asmara Nababan and Hendardi noted that the unearthing of mass
graves had to be conducted in the presence of forensic experts
and the police, or representatives of the National Commission of
Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Asmara, a former member of Komnas HAM, said the presence of
forensic experts and the police, as the body responsible for law
enforcement, was required to preserve the evidence.

"The forensic experts should determine the identity of the
victims and the causes of their deaths. For that reason, there
are clear standards for conducting such excavations," Asmara told
The Jakarta Post.

He said that the ongoing excavations may have destroyed legal
evidence, and the wrong procedures could affect the legitimacy of
whatever evidence survived.

"There are technical procedures, recognized by the United
Nations (UN), for preserving evidence in cases where mass graves
are found. That has to be complied with," Asmara added.

Hendardi from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) contended that rights workers from Komnas HAM
should have been invited to witness the excavations.

Under Law No.39/1999 on human rights, Komnas HAM could conduct
the excavation of a mass grave based on a recommendation from the
Attorney General's Office, Hendardi said.

Last week, the TNI dig out at least 24 bodies from two mass
graves in Central Aceh and another one in South Aceh, claiming
that the remains were those executed by the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) before the military operation began on May 19.

The TNI claimed that the two graves at Guci and Krueng Pase
villages in Central Aceh contained at least 20 bodies, which the
TNI claimed were those of people massacred by GAM in 1999.
Meanwhile, the grave in South Aceh held the remains of four
people, and once again the TNI blamed GAM for the killings, which
were said to have taken place in 2001.

Previously, the military said it had found a mass grave in
West Aceh.

On Sunday, Aceh military operation spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad
Yani Basuki said that the TNI had not initiated the excavation of
the graves but rather had only been helping local villagers with
the work.

"The excavations were conducted by the people and TNI soldiers
were merely helped them with the process," Yani said as quoted by
Antara.

He underlined that the TNI was simply fulfilling the people's
demand that the graves be excavated.

The officer also said that further legal processing of the
findings did not rest in the hands of the military, but with the
relevant legal institutions.

Asmara said that to limit the damage to the evidence, the TNI
should now stay away from the sites and let Komnas HAM and the
police do their jobs.

"The TNI should not dig up other mass graves, but should
rather leave it up to the police and Komnas HAM," he remarked.

Komnas HAM said earlier that it would investigate a report,
received from its field officers, of a mass grave in Nisam
district near Bireuen. The commission said it had no information
about who was responsible for killing the victims.