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.