Wiranto must apologize: Activists
Wiranto must apologize: Activists
JAKARTA (JP): Acehnese activists demanded here yesterday that
Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto apologize for doubting the
findings of a National Commission on Human Rights' investigation
of military atrocities allegedly committed in Aceh.
The commission itself challenged any doubters to double check
its findings yesterday.
Commission member Koesparmono Irsan told journalists that if
the military doubted the findings of the commission team which
excavated mass graves containing the victims of the alleged
atrocities, they could check with the North Sumatra University
Forensics Department and local doctors who assisted in the
exhumation of bodies from the sites.
A group of Acehnese activists also blasted Wiranto's remarks,
saying that it was a cynical attempt to prevent the Armed Forces'
reputation from being sullied by the shameful revelations now
coming out of Aceh.
"If he (Wiranto) was able to apologize for what happened to us
during the military operations then he must also apologize for
making this statement," the groups's coordinator Fajran Zain
said.
He contended that it should be the Aceh people themselves who
have the right to judge the accuracy of the findings since it was
them who experienced the terrors of the military operations at
first hand.
Wiranto on Wednesday criticized the commission for publicizing
its findings on the number of victims of alleged atrocities
perpetrated by the military in Aceh over the last decade without
first checking with the authorities.
The commission announced on Monday that it had received
reports that at least 782 people were killed, 368 tortured, 168
reported missing, 3,000 women widowed and between 15,000 and
20,000 children orphaned during the nine years of military
operations against Acehnese separatists which began in 1989.
Wiranto even suggested that some of the skeletons unearthed by
the commission could have been victims of the 1965 communist
uprising.
"Skeletons don't talk do they," Wiranto remarked.
Acehnese activists decried the ease with which Wiranto brushed
aside the findings after they met with Baharuddin Lopa, M. Salim,
Soegiri and Koesparmono from the commission's fact finding team
yesterday.
"Only the people of Aceh have the right to respond... because
it was the Acehnese people who first reported the atrocities to
the National Commission on Human Rights," Fajran remarked.
He said that it was incorrect to suggest that the graves
contained victims of the 1965 communist uprising because the
skeletons were still adorned in the remains of clothes bearing
recognizable brand names.
Separately in Semarang, Central Java, commission member
Satjipto Rahardjo said the team was ready to reveal its findings.
"If there are parties who regret our findings, that's their
right. But if they suggest that we have been unprofessional,
careless and not diligent in checking the evidence, we cannot
accept that," said Satjipto, who is a senior lecturer at
Diponegoro University in Semarang.
In Medan, North Sumatra, sociologist Asma Affan urged
President B.J. Habibie to visit the sites of the alleged
atrocities.
A mere apology from the President for the atrocities committed
during the military operation is not enough for the Acehnese
people, Asma claimed.
"An apology from the president will not heal the pain and
suffering of the families and relatives of victims of the
atrocities," he said late on Thursday. (har/emf)