|
'The
presence of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Acheh since May 19, 2003,
is not a war that they want to see continued.'
'One
thing is for sure, the Achenese are always ready to give their leaders
a chance. But once promises are broken, the Achenese will not only
lose faith, but take up arms in revolt. In the case of Susilo, the
Achenese are indeed giving him a second chance.'
'Indonesia was right to criticize the United States over Abu Ghraib.
But the widespread torture of detainees in Acheh shows that
Indonesia’s military is committing the same kind of abuses against
Indonesian citizens.'
'Little
or no evidence or witnesses beyond dubious confessions were produced
in court, making cross-examination of witnesses or testing of evidence
impossible.' |
|
 oreign
analysts, like Jeffrey Winters of
Northwestern University, have put together a must-do agenda for Susilo.
Topping their list is that he should "speak clearly about terrorists
operating in Indonesia" (AP, Sept. 21). Indeed, he has battles
to fight on many fronts.
For the Achenese, however, the presence of the Indonesian Military
(TNI) in Acheh since May 19, 2003, is not a war that they want to see
continued. The so-termed integrated operation has been implemented for
16 months in Acheh, and has not won the confidence of the Achenese.
Still, with no exit strategy, the operation has been mainly
militaristic. The casualties includes 1,164 victims of violence or
human rights abuses -- but, only 662 civilian casualties, according to
the TNI.
This figure does not include the deaths of 2,879 people, the
detention of 1,798, or the surrender of 1,954 people, whom the TNI
claims are members of GAM, or sympathizers.
Those figures, interestingly, add up to more than 5,000, the number
of armed GAM members the TNI set out to crush at the beginning of
martial law. In addition, there are at least 159 casualties on the TNI
side.
For the Achenese, especially civilians, the conflict is an
unbearable one. The economic and humanitarian operations that were
supposed to be "integrated" into overall operations were not
effective, or have been crippled by corruption.
Poverty levels have worsened in Acheh, despite trillions of rupiah
budgeted under the special autonomy scheme and poured in through the
integrated operation. In 2001, the poverty level was around 30.43
percent, or 1.2 million out of about 4.1 million people in the
province. Before the conflict, the poverty level was "only" 26.50
percent.
Through the first and second rounds of the presidential election,
the Achenese have sent a clear message: They want drastic change in
their region. They want the conflict to be settled through dialog and
the rule of law, and they want the shameful corruption of local
bureaucrats to be seriously addressed.
In the first round, the Achenese voted overwhelmingly for Amien
Rais, a civilian candidate whom the Achenese may have considered
reformist and less likely to resort to militaristic ways of bringing
peace to Acheh. More than 56 percent of ballots cast in the province
were for Amien, far more than for the incumbent, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who received just 5.6 percent of the vote.
Megawati once pledged, in front of thousands of Achenese, that she
would not let any more blood spill in Acheh, but eventually she was
the one who imposed martial law -- which for the Achenese was but
another name for war.
Curiously, she received half the votes of Wiranto (9.6 percent), a
supposedly more hostile candidate for the Achenese, due to his past in
the military.
In the second round, it was also no surprise that Susilo garnered
an overwhelming 80 percent of the vote in the province, compared to
his returns of 24 percent in the first round.
Apart from the Achenese people's disappointment in Megawati,
Susilo's popularity is rooted in his reputation as a moderate general
in his time. The Achenese may believe there is still hope with Susilo,
no matter how slim.
Already, Susilo has sent positive signals for a return to dialog in
Acheh. Two days after the election, he was widely quoted by the media
as saying, (the conflict) "must be resolved in a fair manner and as
peacefully as possibly".
His commitment, however, remains to be seen. One of his main
challenges will come from a hostile legislature, in which his party,
the Democratic Party, only control about 8 percent of seats. Also, as
a retired military man, he faces a potentially difficult relationship
with the military, due to a possible conflict of interests.
The breakdown of the peace accord between Indonesia and GAM is yet
another problem. It is understandable, therefore, if GAM appears to be
skeptical about the leadership change in Indonesia. But, the people of
Acheh in general, as proven by their votes on election day, seem to be
looking for any path toward peace in Acheh. Although not as convinced,
civil society groups and non-governmental organizations are showing
similar feelings.
For changes to be made through dialog, public input is necessary.
But, the public must also respect whatever decisions are made and the
process of the dialog itself.
The involvement of the international community is unavoidable if
the dialog is to be decisive. A foreign country with limited interests
perhaps, such as New Zealand, the Scandinavian countries or UN bodies,
could make for a good mediator.
This is not to undermine, for example, the United States' efforts
for peace in Acheh, as conveyed by its ambassador designate to
Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe in front of the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations. But some factions would be less receptive to the U.S.
Nevertheless, as the single superpower in the world, the U.S. role
remains vital in mobilizing resources for peace and democracy in Acheh
and Indonesia.
All in all, Susilo has the necessary tools to realize his
commitment to a peaceful resolution in Acheh. With a popular mandate
in his hands, it is up to him to prove his commitment. He also has to
prove whether he is a "moderate general", as suggested by his
supporters; or the real architect of martial law, which justified
violence in Acheh, as alleged by some rights groups.
One thing is for sure, the Achenese are always ready to give their
leaders a chance. They gave Sukarno, Soeharto, and Megawati a chance.
But once promises are broken, the Achenese will not only lose faith,
but take up arms in revolt. In the case of Susilo, given his
background, the Achenese are indeed giving him a second chance.
Saiful Mahdi is the
Achenese Institute coordinator, and is currently studying Policy
Analysis and Modeling at Cornell University.
Military Tortures Prisoners in Acheh
 ased
on interviews with 35 adult and child prisoners from Acheh,
held in five prisons in central Java, the 50-page report, “Acheh at
War: Torture, Ill-Treatment and Unfair Trials,” documents routine
torture, including the use of electric shock, burning with cigarettes,
beatings, threats, and intimidation against detainees accused of
membership in or support for the Free Acheh Movement (GAM) in
Indonesia’s northwest region of Acheh.
Human Rights Watch noted that
Indonesian officials have criticized the torture and mistreatment of
Muslim prisoners by the United States at Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq. In May, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson
said, “The U.S. government does not have the moral authority to assess
or act as a judge of other countries, including Indonesia, on human
rights, especially after the abuse scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib
prison.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for Kopassus, the Indonesian
military’s notorious special forces unit, said, “The treatment of
Iraqi prisoners was clearly inhumane because the military should have
strict standards on how to properly interrogate detainees.” Kopassus
forces are identified in this report by a number of victims as
responsible for torture and other mistreatment.
“Indonesia was right to
criticize the United States over Abu Ghraib” said Brad Adams,
executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. “But the
widespread torture of detainees in Acheh shows that Indonesia’s
military is committing the same kind of abuses against Indonesian
citizens.”
Detainees described horrific abuse by Indonesian security forces. An
Achenese man told Human Rights Watch that he was arrested by Kopassus
officers during a military operation in his village on
June 5, 2003. He described what happened:
After I was arrested I was taken to an illegal post. It was a torture
place. At that time I was interrogated and ill-treated. They bound my
hands and covered my eyes and I was hit repeatedly on my body, then
they shocked me with electricity and I was abused until I was bruised.
The incoming administration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former
general in the Indonesian army, should address the allegations in this
report expeditiously and in a serious, transparent manner, Human
Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch called on the Indonesian government and military to
take all necessary measures to immediately end the torture and
mistreatment of detainees. The government should conduct
investigations into allegations of torture and other mistreatment.
Military and police officials should launch their own investigations
and discipline personnel found to have committed or condoned such acts
or who have been complicit or negligent in allowing them to take
place.
“General Yudhoyono says he wants to reform and professionalize the
Indonesian military,” said Adams. “His credentials as a
reformer can be judged by his willingness to take these allegations
seriously. He needs to cooperate with independent investigations and
pursue the prosecution of those responsible.”
The report also highlighted systematic violations of due process in
the arrest, detention and trial of GAM suspects in Acheh. In most
cases, security forces made arrests without necessary arrest warrants,
defense counsel took no part in preparing a defense or participating
in the trial. Moreover, little or no evidence or witnesses beyond
dubious confessions were produced in court, making cross-examination
of witnesses or testing of evidence impossible.
Human Rights Watch called on Indonesia to invite both
the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the
Independence of Judges and Lawyers to investigate and report on these
allegations and make relevant recommendations to the Indonesian
government on how to stop such abuses.
The international community, in particular the so-called Quartet (the
United States, the European Union, Japan, and the World
Bank), should insist that Indonesia open Acheh to independent national
and international journalists, human rights workers, diplomats and
observers.
“Torture, arbitrary arrests and unfair trials flourish under the cloak
of secrecy,” said Adams. “As long as Acheh remains
closed to independent scrutiny, these abuses are likely to continue.”
The current round of fighting between the Indonesian military and GAM
began on May 19, 2003, when the Indonesian government
imposed martial law in the region after a six-month ceasefire failed
to yield a resolution of the decades-long conflict in Acheh. The Acheh
offensive is Indonesia’s largest military campaign since the country’s
invasion of East Timor in 1975. The operation involves an estimated
30,000 troops, who are opposed by an estimated 5,000 armed members of
GAM.
Since the resumption of conflict, Human Rights Watch has published a
series of reports on the war in Acheh documenting grave abuses by the
Indonesian military, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances,
arbitrary arrests, and torture. As in this report, the army appears to
be targeting young men whom they believe, often without evidence, to
be members or supporters of GAM.
“Although senior Indonesian military leaders have publicly committed
themselves to follow international law in the conduct of their
operations in Acheh, the behavior of the Indonesian security forces on
the ground tells a vastly different story,” Adams said.
For more information,
please contact:
In
Jakarta, Sam Zarifi: +62-815-1141-1998
In
London, Urmi Shah: +44-20-7713-2788
In
New York, Brad Adams: +1-212-216-1228, +1-973-762-6996
In
Washington D.C., Veena Siddharth: +1-202-612-4338
In
Brussels, Vanessa Saenen: +3-22-732-2009
Acheh at War In-Depth:
Torture, Ill-Treatment, and Unfair Trials
Jo-Anne Prud'homme serves Human Rights Watch,
Asia Division Associate. |
