Rights observers appointed to Aceh

Rights observers appointed to Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights has
appointed two liaison officers in Aceh to help record violations
of human rights in the oil-rich province.

The officers are Dahlan M.H., who is the dean of Syah Kuala
University Law School and Saifuddin Bantasyam, who lectures in
the same institute, Antara reported on Friday.

"For the time being, people should report any problems to the
university's law school because we do not yet have an office,"
Dahlan was quoted as saying, adding that facilities would be set
up in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh in the near future.

Their letters of appointment were signed on Jan. 5 by the
rights commission's chairman Marzuki Darusman, he said.

The liaison officers are authorized to receive and record
reports of human rights abuse and to make field tours to verify
the allegations.

The appointment of the liaison officers came shortly after the
province moved into both the national and international spotlight
late last year when residents from a rural part of the province
killed seven soldiers.

The Armed Forces accused separatist rebels of being behind the
killings. Subsequent military operations to root out the alleged
perpetrators resulted in the deaths of over a dozen civilians.

Large numbers of Acehnese allegedly suffered at the hands of
the Armed Forces during a military operation to quash separatist
rebels in the province.

The operation began in the late 1980s and ran to through to
the middle of last year.

The terrible extent of the Acehnese people's suffering during
this period was revealed last year in a report by the National
Commission on Human Rights. The report revealed that at least 781
people were killed and thousands more suffered various forms of
abuse and torture during the nine-year military operation.

When announcing an end to military operation in August last
year, Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto apologized to
the Acehnese people and said the conduct of some soldiers and
officers had "exceeded acceptable norms".

On Thursday, Antara reported that students from the Jantho
chapter of the Association of Islamic Students (HMI) and an
association known by the acronym HIMAB called on Governor
Syamsuddin Mahmud to push for justice for the Acehnese people.

"We urge the governor to take swift action, regardless of the
risks he may face, even death, to solve Aceh's problems,"
Assadullah Mustafa from HIMAB was quoted as saying.

Tarmizi M. from the HMI called for a "referendum" if the
governor failed to meet demands for the perpetrators of past
military atrocities to be brought to justice.

"Our history has shown that the Acehnese people are loyal to
the Republic of Indonesia...a referendum would be a way of asking
the public how they want their problems to be solved," Tarmizi
said. (aan)