UPDATE (INDONESIA/ACEH): Young activist found dead after being kidnapped 

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: UA-60-2002
ISSUES: Extrajudicial killings,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Mr. Musliadi, 26, a coordinator of KaGEMPAR, a coalition of students and youth groups in West Aceh, was found dead after being kidnapped by six men suspected to be members of the Indonesian armed forces on Nov. 30, 2002 (for more details, please see our previous appeal at http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2002/382/).

According to the information received, Musliadi, a graduate of the School of Economics of Syiah Kuala University in Aceh, was found dead in the Senapit area in Lembah Seulawah Subdistrict of Aceh Besar District on Dec. 3, 2002. Volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross found the body and took it to the Zainoel Abidin public hospital in Banda Aceh where it was identified.

The body reportedly showed injuries caused by blunt objects and sharp weapons. He was buried in the village of Sibreh in Aceh Besar District.

AHRC urges the Indonesian authorities to conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into this extrajudicial killing and to bring to justice those responsible for Musliadi’s death. In addition, it is imperative that the authorities take concrete measures, including engaging in a productive peace dialogue with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), to stop this vicious cycle of human rights violations in Aceh.

Meanwhile, we are attaching the press statement below issued by Kontras Aceh to better understand the situation in Aceh.

Thank you for your attention to this human rights violation in Aceh.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission

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Aceh Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence

PRESS STATEMENT

4,908 peoples were victims of violence in Aceh

During January to November 2002

The situation in Aceh until end of November 2002 did not yet show any specific changes, mostly innocent civilians have been victims of violence, and some other from troops of Indonesian Armed Force/Indonesian Police and Free Aceh movement guerillas. The poor process of maintaining human rights has caused impunity to human rights violations. In fact, no one who has been involved in human rights violation has been brought to the court of justice. Instead, various statements who issued by Military officer and elite Indonesian government have made more sustainable to violence acts and really contradictive with principle of Human rights and principle of peace.

A number of encircling who were done by Indonesian Armed Force to Free Aceh Movement barracks, or A numbers crushed/attack who were done by Free Aceh Movement to Indonesian Armed Force/Indonesian Police have increased the fear and list of violence to innocent civilians, also decrease the peoples economic growth. Acts or threaten Indonesian Armed Force officer to take more offensive steps to Free Aceh Movement with reason to faster signed to peace agreement’s process are not a rationalization to be aware with intellect¡¯s thinking, because it will be make the cessation of hostilities or trust building concepts who have being tried by a numbers of parties be worse to formed.

Meanwhile, any efforts that has been done by any civil society groups to speak about peace and to find peace and democratic solution to end a long conflict, but closed of public space in Aceh because of increasingly militaries hegemonic, thus efforts are getting hard obstacle, such as, arrested to chairperson’s of Forum Rakyat (Peoples Forum) on a peace demonstration in Banda Aceh recently and kidnapping of Musliadi, as chairperson’s of Kagempar and also irrational statement from Mayor General Djali Jusuf as commander of Iskandar Muda’s region military command against a number of Acehnese civil society leaders in Aceh a few days ago was part of terror effort’s form to push down the voice and civil societies power in Aceh.

Aceh Commission for Disappearances and victims of violence (KontraS Aceh) reported a number of violence acts that were going on in Aceh during January to November 2002. 1,307 killed, 1,860 were tortured, 1,186 were arrested or arbitrary detention, 377 cases of disappearances (some of them already known where he/she detained, there is found be corpses) and 46 women were sexually harassed. Those numbers of violence were part of practical impunity and violence acts that happened any years before. In 1999, 421 killed with summary/extra-judicial killing, 802 tortured, 293 arrested/arbitrary detention, and 101 disappeared. In 2000, 524 summary killing cases, 419 were arrested/arbitrary detention, and 140 disappearances. In 2001, Aceh commission for disappearances also reported: 1,014 summary killing cases, 768 tortured, 578 were arrested/arbitrary detention, and 377 disappearances.

Based on the data and number that is described above proves that the number of victims of violence and acts of violence have increased each year. We ensure that, the numbers that reported above are lower than the reality acts in field, caused by our limitation to found the remote areas, also caused by the fear of victims or families and witness to report about violence, Thus far there is no exact mechanism provided by the state to protect the victims and witnesses of various crimes against humanity and human rights violations.

Based on the numbers, data or reality, Aceh commission for disappearances and victims of violence (KontraS Aceh) is willing to submit several alternative solutions to decrease the high number of violence acts that are going on in Aceh.

– Both sides (Indonesian Armed Force/Indonesian Police and Free Aceh Movement) have to build up trust building and have goodwill to end a longer conflict in Aceh.

– While getting peace process, both sides have to keep out any statements or threaten each other, because it would become a serious obstacle in building trust and towards the peace process.

– One of parties, could not be allowed to pressure another party with reason that’s to force to peace agreement be signed. Because that is not a good starting on the cessation of hostilities and trust building, and that will create a worse conflict in the future. In another word, conflict will not be a comprehensive ending, but only muffled a while.

– Both sides have to talked clearly on cease-fire mechanism without under pressure, because cease-fire is the first step to end conflict in Aceh in accordance with democratic and dignity solution.

– Both sides have to bring the international observer who have capability to reach all of the areas that ensured as stages of violence, and they should have authority “to consider” violence of agreements who has been done by either party.

– We invoke to the state to provide guarantee for victims and witness of violence acts, and have to announce a clearly mechanism

Thus end press release that we issued, thank you

Banda Aceh, 3 December 2002

Aceh Commission for disappearances and victims of violence (Kontras Aceh)

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Document Type : Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID : UA-60-2002
Countries : Indonesia,
Issues : Extrajudicial killings,