Rights body tries to make amends with military
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh
In an apparent attempt to bury the hatchet with the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has pledged its support to the ongoing conflict in Aceh.
Komnas HAM members Achmad Ali and Taheri Noer met with hundreds of soldiers at the Blang Rancung military post in Syamtalira Aron regency on Sunday to give them a primer on human rights regulations.
"Komnas HAM is not a monster to the TNI and nor is the TNI to us. You (the soldiers) should not think human rights is a nightmare anymore. The emergency law stipulated here gives many exceptions to laws which protect basic rights.
"You are doing a noble job here, where your life is at stake. Human rights violations are natural under such conditions, but the issue is whether there can be legal sanctions given to the perpetrators," Achmad Ali told the soldiers.
Soldiers convicted for crimes such as rape should not question their commanders' policy to bring them to trial, said Achmad Ali, apparently unaware that the 411th Infantry Battalion, which had three members convicted of rape, were in attendance.
Military Operation Commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Dharmono also was in attendance, as well as soldiers of the Aceh marines, and the Army's 143rd Infantry Battalion, the 3rd Marine Battalion and the Mobile Taskforce 3rd Battalion.
One of the marines told The Jakarta Post that although their commander had always given them guidelines on human rights issues, it was the first time they had ever heard it from a "key source".
The soldiers asked many questions about whether what they had done was a violation of people's basic rights and whether their own basic rights were protected by the commission.
"The plenary meeting of Komnas HAM, which is the only decision-making institution, has never called for an end to the military operation in Aceh. Just do your job. If you don't shoot or bomb, you are not soldiers, just a joke," said Achmad Ali.
The grudge between the TNI and Komnas HAM started when the latter conducted investigations into possible rights violations by the military and police in East Timor in 1999, the bloodshed in Tanjung Priok, East Jakarta, in 1984, and the shootings of students in 1998 and 1999 in Jakarta.
The latest quarrel occurred when Komnas HAM's monitoring team for war in Aceh, led by M.M. Billah, said it had evidence of mass graves and other rights abuse cases. There was yet a further investigation into the accusation.
In a press conference, Achmad Ali admitted that the team's three-day visit to the province was part of efforts to show them that "the commission is not an enemy of the TNI" and reduce possible rights violations during the military operation.
When asked whether the fence-mending campaign was too late to have an affect, Achmad Ali said it was a follow-up because they had started it at the marine post in Surabaya long before the troops were sent to Aceh.
Bambang Dharmono, who welcomed the team, told reporters that the cooperation with Komnas HAM to give lectures on human rights was evidence of the military's concern of such issues.
"We scheduled the team to meet the soldiers on duty in North Aceh and Pidie regencies, because there are the concentration points of troops," he said.