INDONESIA: Restore Rule of Law in Aceh

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: UA-09-2001
ISSUES: Judicial system, Rule of law,

UA-09-2001: Restore Rule of Law in Aceh

INDONESIA – extrajudicial civilian killings, arson by military/police

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The Indonesian parliament has authorised the Indonesian Military (TNI) to conduct a ‘limited military operation’ (re-labelled a ‘limited security operation’) in Aceh against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), who are fighting for an independent Aceh. The operation is supposedly aimed at the leadership of the GAM. However, it is clear that the TNI have used this opportunity to target human rights defenders and to create terror amongst the civilians, as part of a prolonged campaign to destroy the rule of law in Aceh. The following are some recent incidents that have not been properly investigated:

22 March

– 5 civilian farmers were abducted by a joint army-police team in the village of Suak Bilie, in the West Aceh sub-district of Seunagan, and later found dead with gunshot wounds at the Cut Nyak Dhien hospital in Meulaboh.

23-24 March

– A civilian man, Syukri, 30, was abducted late on 23rd and shot dead on the morning of 24th by an unknown gunman near the Syah Kuala University, about seven kilometers away from Banda Aceh.

– The same night, security personnel burnt down 100 houses in Alue Gadeng Puntong in Birem Bayeum sub-district, East Aceh, and a further 60 houses in Rantau Panyang, also in East Aceh. According to the Aceh Forum Concerned about Human Rights, both villages were intentionally set on fire in what appeared to be a \”scorched earth\” policy taken by the security forces.

– At least seven civilians were killed in these fires. The seven civilians, including a 70-year-old woman, Grandmother Maryam, were killed when security personnel set fire to houses and roadside stalls in the Rantau Panyang village in East Aceh.

25 March

– In West Aceh regency, a man named Syarifuddin, 60, and his wife Misnah, 55, of Kuala Unga village, Jaya subdistrict, were reportedly shot dead at their residence by an unidentified person at about 1:30 p.m.

– In Aceh Besar, an Indonesian police officer, identified as First Brig. Yukirman Tanjung, was shot dead by two gunmen while he was jogging at Ulee Lhue beach. The two attackers were riding a motorcycle when they shot Yukirman according to the Banda Aceh police chief.

29 March

– The bodies of three men were found in the village of Simpang Tiga Alue Pakuk in Sawang subdistrict, South Aceh. They had all been shot and the wounds were still fresh. Teungku Kamal, 42, was the head of a Muslim boarding school (pesantren) Darul Kamal in Blang Pidie, South Aceh; he was also a member of the team set up to monitor implementation of the \”peace through dialogue\” agreement between GAM and the Indonesian government. Suprin Sulaiman, 37, was a lawyer with the Human Rights Coalition of Aceh. Amirduddin was a driver for the monitoring team. The three men had left the South Aceh police station about a half hour

earlier, according to witnesses. Teungku Kamal had been summoned for questioning as a suspect in a criminal defamation case in which members of the Mobil Police Brigade (Brimob) assigned to South Aceh said they had been falsely accused of raping and otherwise assaulting five young women from that district. Suprin Sulaiman was acting as Teungku Kamal’s legal adviser.[Human Rights Watch Report]

April 1

Bombings, arson and shootings took place in West Aceh and North Aceh.

April 2

Three bodies discovered in the ‘Security Zone’ of North Aceh and Aceh Besar: Brig. Safril, of Dewantara Police subprecinct, was discovered, with severe lacerations to the back of his head, in Paloh Lada village of Dewantara district, North Aceh, at around 6 am; An unidentified male body was found in the estuary of Muara Sungai Manyang, Mon Melayu village, also in North Aceh on Monday (the body had already begun decomposing); A civilian named Satino, 35, was shot by alleged armed rebels after the group intercepted his public minivan in Braden village, Aceh Besar, on Monday.

BACKGROUND

The government and rebels have been holding peace talks in Geneva since last year. They have signed a series of shaky truces but so far failed to stem violence which has left some 300 people dead this year. Earlier this month the government in Jakarta finally slapped the \”separatist\” tag on GAM — which has been fighting for a free Islamic state in Aceh since the mid-1970s — and announced a \”limited security operation\” involving more troop deployments to rid the province of rebels.

The vast majority of the population of Aceh are caught in the middle of the battle between the TNI and GAM, and have become the victims of a terror campaign that has destroyed the rule of law. Thousands of disappearances, house-burnings, abductions, torture and murder cases have gone uninvestigated and unprosecuted as judges, law enforcement officials and administrators who seek restoration of the rule of law have been attacked by both sides and many forced to abandon their posts.

Meanwhile Muhammad Nazar, 27, chairman of the Information Center for an Aceh Referendum (SIRA), is accused of having \”publicly expressed enmity, hatred or insults towards the government of Indonesia\”. Nazar was one of the organisers of a peaceful mass rally to call for a refendum on independence for Aceh. Security personnel used heavy-handed means to prevent thousands from attending the popularly-supported rally.

Human rights defenders have been targeted by both sides during the past year, most notably with the abduction, torture and murder of Jafar Siddiq, an Acehnese human rights lawyer. Nothing has been done to stop the killing of human rights defenders and civilians, and it is clear that the means used in the latest ‘limited security operation’ are exacerbating this problem and making the prospect of human rights and peace more and more remote.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please write to the TNI Commander, the President of Indonesia, the Coordinating Minister for Security and the National Police chief to urge them to investigate the death of the human rights defenders, the arson of 160 homes and the killing of civilians at the hands of security forces acting with the authorisation of parliament. Copies of your letter should be sent to the UN Special Rapporteurs listed.

SAMPLE LETTER

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER

SAMPLE LETTER

Your Excellency, President Wahid;

Adm. Widodo, Commander of TNI;

Lt. Gen. Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister;

Gen. Surojo Bimantoro, National Police chief;

I am shocked that human rights defenders and innocent civilians are being targeted by your security forces with the sanction of parliament under the guise of a ‘limited security operation’ in Aceh.

The most recent dead include:

– Teungku Kamal, 42, head of Pesantren Darul Kamal in Blang Pidie, South Aceh and member of the “peace through dialogue” agreement monitoring team; Suprin Sulaiman, 37, a lawyer with the Human Rights Coalition of Aceh; Amirduddin, a driver for the monitoring team were all shot and their bodies found in the village of Simpang Tiga Alue Pakuk in Sawang subdistrict, South Aceh on March 29 about half an hour after their release from the South Aceh police station.

– A civilian Syarifuddin, 60, and his wife Misnah, 55, of Kuala Unga village, Jaya subdistrict, shot dead at their residence by an unidentified person at about 1:30 pm on March 25

– 7 civilians, including ‘Grandmother’ Maryam, 70, burned to death on 24-25 March when security personnel set fire to 60 houses and roadside stalls in the Rantau Panyang village in East Aceh.

– A civilian man, Syukri, 30, abducted and shot dead on March 24th by an unknown gunman near the Syah Kuala University, about seven kilometers away from Banda Aceh

– 5 farmers abducted on 22 March by a joint army-police team from the village of Suak Bilie, in the West Aceh sub-district of Seunagan, later found dead with gunshot wounds at the Cut Nyak Dhien hospital in Meulaboh.

In addition to these most recent killings and burnings, a further 100 private homes were torched by security personnel in Alue Gadeng Puntong village, East Aceh. Also, the murders of three RATA workers (executed in North Aceh in December 2000), Acehnese human rights lawyer Jafar Siddiq and four unidentified persons (executed in August 2000 in Medan) remain unresolved. Four of the suspected killers escaped from detention on March 26.

I urge you to ensure that these 26 extrajudicial killings and the mass burning of homes are investigated thorougly and those responsible prosecuted according to the rule of law. The parliament, along with the officers involved in these incidents, must take responsibility for this spate of abduction, murder and arson, and must take extreme measures to bring the perpetrators to justice and to prevent further terror attacks on human rights defenders and innocent civilians.

Offences by GAM do not provide an excuse for the TNI, police and parliament to attack human rights defenders and peaceful civilians. Unless the rule of law is restored immediately in Aceh there can be no hope for peace in the province. The establishment of an internationally supported commission of inquiry under Komnas HAM to investigate the above crimes would be the best strategy to begin restoring the rule of law in Aceh.

Yours sincerely

_______________

CC. – UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings

– UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

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SEND LETTERS TO

Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid

President, Republic of Indonesia

Presidential Palace, Jakarta

Istana Negara, Indonesia.

Fax: (62 21) 345 7782

SALUTATION: Your Excellency

Admiral Widodo AS,

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander

Jl. Raya Cilangkap

Jakarta Timur

Indonesia

Tel: +6221 845 91240

Fax: +6221 849 1617

SALUTATION: Dear Admiral Widodo

Lt. Gen. (ret.) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Coordinating Minister for Political, Security, and Social Affairs

Jl. Merdeka Barat No. 15

Jakarta

INDONESIA

Tel: +(62 21) 345 1064

Fax: +(62 21) 345 0918

SALUTATION: Dear Lt. Gen. Yudhoyono

Gen. Surojo Bimantoro

National Chief of Police

Jl. Trunojoyo

No. 3 Kebayoran Baru

Jakart Selatan

Indonesia

Tel: +(6221) 721 8001

Fax: +(6221) 720 7277

SALUTATION: Dear Gen. Bimantoro

SEND COPIES TO

Ms. Asma Jahangir

Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

c/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Fax: 41 22 917 9006

webadmin.hchr@unog.ch

PLEASE MARK: ATT – SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ASMA JAHANGIR

Ms. Hina Jilani

Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders

c/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Fax: 41 22 917 9006

webadmin.hchr@unog.ch

PLEASE MARK: ATT – SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR HIMA JILANI

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Document Type : Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID : UA-09-2001
Countries : Indonesia,
Issues : Judicial system, Rule of law,