War captives await legal proceedings
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh
"I'm not GAM (Free Aceh Movement), I'm NKRI (Unitary Republic of Indonesia) to the core," said Fatimah, 29, who is being detained in Lhokseumawe prison, North Aceh.
"I was probably arrested because my house was always full of people. I opened a small kiosk and my husband repaired electronic goods. So, no wonder people kept coming and going from our place," Fatimah told journalists who visited her in the prison on Saturday.
Their home is in Panggoy village, Muara Dua district, North Aceh, and is located right across from a military post manned by members of the Army's 143rd Battalion.
Fatimah was arrested with her husband, Zaini Zainuddin, close to midnight on May 19, several hours after President Megawati Soekarnoputri imposed martial law on Aceh.
"I'm not guilty and I want out. I miss my three kids ... they are not allowed to leave the refugee camp to see me here," she said, adding that the children were now being cared for by her parents in Reuleut refugee camp.
Fatimah, however, sees some light at the end of the tunnel as the police have finished processing her case, and now she is waiting for her trial.
Only a few out of the nearly 200 war captives held in Lhokseumawe prison have had their cases processed and will shortly face trail. Many others in the prison have still not even been questioned by the police or military police.
Maj. M. Zabur Nawawi, commander of Military Police Task Force A, which is responsible war captives detained in Lhokseumawe, Bireuen, Langsa, Sigli and Takengon, explained that all captives had to be interrogated by military police officers before being sent to the police for the further processing of their cases.
"We will turn them over to the police for further investigation only if we find prima facie evidence of their involvement in the separatist movement," Zabur said.
As Indonesia has never ratified the 1920 Geneva Convention, the Aceh martial law administration uses a 1999 government regulation in handling war prisoners.
This regulation gives the power to the military police to detain war captives for 20 days, which can be extended for another 20 days.
When asked about the case of Fatimah, Zabur insisted that Fatimah and her husband Zaini were GAM informants.
"GAM police official Saiful alias Sipon, who was arrested at about the same time as they were, admitted that GAM got information about movements of the Army's 143rd Battalion from the kiosk owners across from the post. That's why the battalion was always ambushed on patrol."
Nevertheless, Zabur said the courts would determine who was telling the truth.
Zabur explained that only 68 out of 412 detainees in the five prisons under his supervision had had their cases fully processed by police investigators.
Zabur also explained that 255 out of 412 detainees were arrested during the military operation, while the remaining 157 had surrendered to the military or the police.
The military's latest figures show that more than 1,300 rebels have been arrested or have surrendered since the military launched a massive six-month operation on May 19 to crush GAM.
Zabur said the military police treated detainees who surrendered themselves differently from those who had been arrested. The former would be detained only if they were high up in GAM. Those who were not high up in GAM would be sent for "vocational training", and then be released.
"However, many who were to be released were loath to go home for security reasons," he said.
The Aceh martial law administration started providing vocational training for surrendering GAM supporters at the Teachers' Training Hall (BPG) in Aceh Besar, according to Husni Bahari, an assistant with the Aceh administration's public order office.
"The training continues for five months. They are given training on carpentry, farming, fishing, sewing, as well as auto repair," said Husni.
"In addition, they are also given religious instruction and taught about nationalism."
Long before they joined the training courses, GAM supporters who turned themselves received indoctrination about nationalism and the unitary Indonesian state right after they entered prison.
When journalists visited Lhokseumawe prison early on Saturday, the detainees started their day by doing exercises, followed by singing the national anthem Indonesia Raya and other love-the- nation songs. Later, some of them gathered in groups and played volley ball.
Others were seen cleaning and painting the area to make sure that it would be suitably spick-and-span for Indonesia's Independence Day on Aug. 17.