Rights body tries to make amends with military

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.