Soldiers' rape trial to start on Friday in Lhokseumawe
Soldiers' rape trial to start on Friday in Lhokseumawe
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh
The court martial of three soldiers for the rape of four women in
Aceh will start on Friday, a court official in the North Aceh
town of Lhokseumawe said on Wednesday.
"They (the Lhokseumawe military court) have asked for a permit
to use our court venue for the rape trial beginning on Friday
morning," said Sofyan who heads the Lhokseumawe State Court.
Three soldiers from Battalion 411 of the Army's Strategic
Reserves Command (Kostrad) admitted to raping the four women last
month.
The maximum penalty for rape under military law is 12 years in
jail.
The upcoming trial will mark the second time in which soldiers
have been prosecuted over rights abuses during the six-week-old
military operation in Aceh.
Last month the military court sentenced six soldiers to four
months in jail for aggravated assault against a group of
civilians in Lawang village, Bireun regency.
On June 27, military police arrested Chief Pvt ST, First Pvt
HD and First Pvt. DL following reports that they had raped the
four women at different places in North Aceh regency.
The three admitted to their crimes after three days of
questioning on June 22.
Martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya apologized
on Monday to the Aceh people for the rapes, calling it a disgrace
to the good image of the Indonesian Military (TNI).
Nevertheless, several rights groups have claimed that there
are many more cases of rights abuse that remain unaccounted for,
with reports still emerging over the discovery of dead civilians.
Over 10,000 people have died in the decades long conflict,
most of whom have been civilians, especially during the 1989 to
1998 military operation in Aceh. Rights groups condemned both the
TNI and GAM for the atrocities, but blamed the former for its
longer record of abuses.
Although the TNI has been a bit more transparent in its
current military operation, it has become increasingly difficult
to monitor rights abuses in the province.
A slew of newly enforced edicts have completely banned many
journalists and civilian monitors and severely controlled the
activity of those journalists and right groups allowed into the
province.
Aceh is mostly closed to foreigners, with only a few who have
been residing there, or those who work for multinational
companies such as ExxonMobil, able to remain in the province.
The martial law administration has instructed all foreign aid
agencies to leave, and has turned a cold shoulder to local aid
groups.