Wiranto cites ABRI deaths in Aceh operation

Wiranto cites ABRI deaths in Aceh operation

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto
disclosed on Friday that the nine-year military operation against
separatists in Aceh did not result in civilian victims. Of 760
deaths recorded, he said 111 were ABRI members.

In a meeting with a delegation from the National Commission on
Human Rights, chaired by President B.J. Habibie, Wiranto said 243
civilians were murdered by the armed rebels. The military, on the
other hand, killed 406 rebels.

Wiranto, also minister of defense and security, said ABRI
arrested and prosecuted 421 rebels while 514 others surrendered
and were returned to their respective communities.

Commission vice chairman Marzuki Darusman said his
organization stood by its previous statement that 781 people were
murdered during the military operations but quickly added that
the figure was still provisional.

"Each of us pointed out the views of our respective
institutions, therefore we must still clarify the figures with
the commander," Marzuki said after attending the three-hour
meeting with the President at the State Guest House.

During the meeting Habibie was accompanied by several other
ministers, including Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance
and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Minister of Home Affairs
Syarwan Hamid and Minister of Justice Muladi.

Syarwan may well be the most well-informed about Aceh among
the ministers because, as a colonel, he was the commander of the
Lhokseumawe district command in North Aceh from 1991 to 1992 at
the height of the troubles.

The commission members who attended included Charles Himawan,
Miriam Budiardjo, Samsudin, Koesparmono Irsan, and Bambang W.
Soeharto.

According to Muladi, Wiranto said during the meeting that the
situation in Aceh and other provinces should be seen in a
complete context.

"There must be a balance. The past problems must be
proportionally and objectively understood and not judged by the
current situation," Muladi quoted the general as saying.

Wiranto refused to talk to journalists after the meeting.

It was not clear why Wiranto called the separatists GPK
(Security Disturbance Movement) in his report because in a visit
to Aceh on Aug. 7, he said he had decided to stop using the term.

He also promised then to withdraw combat troops from Aceh,
including the Army's Special Force (Kopassus).

The withdrawal was suspended following two days of rioting in
Lhokseumawe on Monday and Tuesday. Two people were killed, 12
wounded and five arrested by police, while more than 200
buildings were damaged. The situation in the town has now
returned to normal.

Koesparmono, a retired police major general, said the
commission's conclusion that 781 victims were murdered in Aceh,
was based on forensic examinations and evidence from local human
rights organizations.

Wiranto expressed his doubts about the figures last month,
saying the human skeletons found in Aceh might be those of
victims of the backlash following the communist coup attempt in
1965.

"Forensic doctors told us the age of the skeletons was at the
most eight years old," Koesparno argued during the meeting.

"What is important is not only about the number but that human
rights cannot be abused under any pretext," Marzuki noted.

Aceh has a particular place in Indonesian history because the
Dutch found the province the most difficult to bring under their
control.

To show his respect and to apologize to the Acehnese people,
the President has expressed his desire to visit the province some
time this year despite objections from his advisors about the
security situation.

ABRI Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi stressed
on Thursday that the troop withdrawal would soon resume after the
situation in the province returned to normal.

"It will later be up to the Acehnese people themselves to
handle the situation," Fachrul said. (prb)