TNI to sue 'Koran Tempo' over alleged false report

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh

The Indonesian Military (TNI) will sue the Koran Tempo daily newspaper for allegedly publishing incorrect reports over the killing of 10 civilians during a raid in the first week of a major military operation to rout separatist rebels.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said on Tuesday the military might also consider suing France-based news agency Agence France Presse (AFP), from which Tempo quoted in its story.

"We will officially sue Tempo newspaper because it must be held accountable for the headline," Sjafrie told The Jakarta Post. "Later development does not rule out the possibility of suing AFP."

Tempo published the story on May 22, which ran under the headline "Civilians have started to become victims".

Quoting an AFP dispatch, Tempo reported on a military raid which led to the death of 10 civilians, including a 13-year old child in the village of Matam Mamplang in the Bireun regency.

It said an 87-strong unit led by Capt. Mahfud Supriadi allegedly shot the civilians during a search for rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The report said the 10 victims were guarding a shrimp farm at the time of the attack which occurred early in the morning on Tuesday last week. They were told to stand in a row, then shot one by one.

The story was based on the testimony of Anizar, a villager from Matang Mamplang, who was reportedly a witness. She is also the sister of Chairul Razi, 27, one of the casualties.

Speaking during a press conference, Anizar said that she was not present when the raid took place. "It happened at dawn last Tuesday and all local people stayed indoors when the military began to raid the villages."

She said that she heard about the incident from others who told her that her brother Chairul was killed by the military. "I didn't see it by myself. Yes I was interviewed by several foreign journalists and I recounted that story," she explained.

Aceh's Military Operation Commander Brig. Gen. Bambang Darmono said Tempo's news report had prompted him to order a probe into the raid.

"We were also curious whether soldiers have committed a (human right) violation because they did not find any weapons with the victims but only seized a walkie talkie," Bambang said during the press conference.

According to him, the victims were GAM spies or called contoi who inform rebels of Indonesian troop movements.

He said that when the soldiers arrived at the scene at around 4:30 a.m., they saw two people running away and shouting "watch out.. pai is coming!" GAM reportedly calls Indonesian soldiers pai.

Bambang said that the suspected contoi had ignored warning shots and therefore had to be shot as they ran away. Eight others then emerged and they too tried to escape.

The soldiers, he said, opened fire on them and killed them in separate places.

Two of the victims were 13-year-old, Anas Munazir, and 17-year-old Nasrullah Yusuf. Bambang said GAM used children as spies too.

But when asked if Chairul could have been a shrimp farmer, not a GAM member, Bambang answered "If he was not a contoi, what was he doing there in the middle of the night?. The shrimp farms are no longer used anyway."