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)