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'After
the killings, the troops made sweeps in villages near the
plantation and arrested every Achenese they found. They were
beaten and taken to an army post. We do not know where they
were taken or how many people were taken.'
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 HILE
WAITING FOR MORE detailed
information from the site of the massacre, here is a
preliminary report containing a chronology of the events
leading up to and following the massacre which occurred on
the premises of the PT Bumi Flora Plantation. In the opening
paragraphs, the report goes into some detail about that
location of the plantation and explaining that it is
actually situated in Banda Alam sub-district.
Although the owners of the plantation have not yet been
identified, the plantation is known to employ a mixture of
native Achenese and transmigrant Javanese. Most of the
Achehenese employed are residents of East Acheh. The Javanese
account for the majority of the workforce. In fact, the
Javenese also comprise the majority of people who live in
the sub-districts Julok, Banda Alam and Idi Rayeuk.
Since the start of the Operation to Uphold Security and Law
(OKPH), there has been a marked increase in the number of
TNI/Polri (armed forces and police) non-organic troops
located in the vicinity of the plantation. Local people are
well aware in particular of the presence of a non-organic
TNI post which has been set up in Alue le Mirah Plantation
IV, in Julok sub-district.
Many of the workers are unskilled labourers who plant and
tend the palm oil owned by the plantation. SIRA
investigators also discovered that most of the Javanese
inhabitants and employees living in the villages close to
the plantation have received regular briefings from the
non-organic troops advising them to oppose GAM and the
Achenese people, while some have also been trained as
militias. The situation resembles the situation in Central
Acheh where a massacre also occurred against people suspected
of being pro-GAM.
Chronology
WEDNESDAY, 8 AUGUST
2001
GAM guerrillas under the command of Ridwan Abu Bakar,
operational commander for the district of Peureulak (GAM
uses different names for the districts and sub-districts)
launched an attack on the non-organic TNI post near the Bumi
Flora plantation. Twenty soldiers were killed in the attack;
GAM forces suffered no losses and returned safely to their
base.
Following this attack, the atmosphere was very tense; in the
afternoon, the security forces evacuated the bodies of their
men. People working at the plantation were very scared
indeed and a few of the Achenese who were afraid of
retaliation managed to move away to relatives in
neighbouring sub-districts as they know that villagers
frequently become the target of attack by the TNI, following
an attack on their positions by GAM. Even before the GAM
attack occurred, TNI officers had been warning the local
people that, should GAM launch an attack, all the civilians
in the area would be killed.
THURSDAY, 9 AUGUST
2001, at about 9.30
am
Two truckloads of non-organic TNI troops arrived, followed
by several more truckloads of troops. SIRA investigators
have not been able to identify the units of these troops or
to determine how many troops were involved. They may also
have been reinforced by Brimob troops, but this cannot yet
be
confirmed.
The non-organic troops surrounded the plantation area. At
the time, the plantation employees were collecting their
wages. The troops forced their way into the barracks where
the people live and said that the Achenese among the
workforce should be identified. The Javanese employees
helped to identify the Achenese. While this was happening,
the troops confiscated the wages the Achenese employees had
just collected.
They then rounded up 50 Achenese who were ordered to gather
outside in a field. Women were separated from the men by a
distance of 20 metres. The men (Including a two and a half
year old boy) were told to get in line and to strip. An
officer then told them that the day before, more than 70 of
their men had been shot dead by GAM guerrillas and asked the
men to give information about the GAM attackers. But none of
them knew anything about it. Then the soldiers apologised
for what they were about to do, saying that they had to take
revenge for the killing of their comrades.
Dozens of TNI soldiers then opened fire, killing
more than thirty of the men and injuring several others.
They also aimed their weapons at the women, among whom were
several children. One of the men managed to escape and fled
the scene.
After the killings, the troops made sweeps in villages near
the plantation and arrested every Achenese they found. They
were beaten and taken to an army post. We do not know where
they were taken or how many people were taken.
13.30pm
The troops left the scene of the massacre
14.00pm
Red Cross volunteers and people from the Idi Rayeuk medical
centre started to evacuate the bodies and the wounded and
took them to the Idi Rayeuk medical centre and the Langsa
hospital. This was not completed until 19.45pm.
Within hours, the security forces were disseminating news to
the mass media and others that GAM was responsible for the
massacre. [The report mentions here the names of local
civilian officials who assisted the security forces at this
stage.]
FRIDAY, 10 AUGUST 2001
Events ongoing up to the time this report was finalised:
Troops and intelligence officers have set up guard round the
hospital and medical centre where the dead and wounded were
taken to prevent information from being spread by relatives
of the victims. The relatives have been warned not to report
anything about the massacre and are being warned to say that
GAM was responsible. The military are closely guarding the
wounded people and their relatives. Anyone entering the
hospital is closely checked and visitors and not being
allowed to visited the wounded.
Meanwhile four armoured vehicles and 8 transport trucks have
been sent to the plantation area and to the nearby villages;
villagers are being warned to say that GAM was responsible.
Most of the dead are from East Acheh or North Acheh.
The report gives the names of the dead and wounded.
In conclusion, SIRA says that although their report is still
far from complete, they call upon all sides, especially
humanitarian and human rights organisations, especially
international organisations to:
- Call on the
Indonesian government to withdraw all non-organic troops
from Acheh.
- To all
governments and the UN to intervene in Acheh on
humanitarian grounds and to stop all political, economic
and military aid to the Indonesian government.
- To conduct an
independent investigation into this massacre.
- Take action to
save and protect the wounded, witnesses and others who
have survived. And to take measures to prevent such a
thing from happening again, and to prevent military
reprisals by the GAM guerrillas against the TNI/Polri
security forces.
Word of TAPOL
This is the most
detailed and comprehensive account of the Julok massacre
seen by TAPOL. While not being able to endorse the contents,
TAPOL fully supports the call by SIRA for an independent
investigation into the massacre and for measures to be taken
to safeguard the lives of the wounded, the survivors and
others in the area who are now at risk. TAPOL also strongly
endorses the call on GAM not to take retaliatory action; we
also urge GAM to take note of the consequences on the local
population of such attacks on TNI positions.
With
Hamzah, an investigator committee, from SIRA,
Information Centre for a Referendum in Acheh |
