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Tapol accuses millitary of killing villagers in Aceh
Tapol Letter to British Foreign Minister - February 9, 2005
[The following open letter was sent by the UK base human rights organisation Tapol to British Foreign Office Minister, Douglas Alexander, on 9 February 2005.]
Douglas Alexander
Minister of State
Foreign and Commonwealth
Office
London SW1A 2AH
Dear Mr Alexander,
Human Rights Abuses in Aceh
We have recently received very disturbing reports of a number of assaults on individuals or groups of people by members of the security forces in various parts of Aceh. These incidents have occurred at a time when the people of Aceh are still grappling with the terrifying consequences of the tsunami tragedy that killed over 110,000 people, with many more still missing. The people of Aceh have also suffered colossal material loss and have been forced to become reliant on aid from international aid agencies and foreign governments, including the British Government.
It is all the more deplorable that, at such a time of catastrophe, members of the Indonesian army have yet again resorted to acts of violence.
I wish to draw your attention to the following incidents:
1. On 28 December, two days after the tsunami struck, seven villagers from the village of Gampung Bale, Lampuuk sub-district were returning home to look for bodies. They encountered some soldiers who ordered them to draw closer. Five did so, while the others stood back, and were able to see what happened. The soldiers asked to see the identity cards of the five villagers, and ordered them to strip. Then shots rang out and the five villagers were killed. Later, other villagers were ordered to bury the bodies.
2. On 27 January, during military operations in the vicinity of Darussalem village, Peusongan subdistrict, Bireuen district, a number of villagers were returning home after tending their gardens. They encountered some soldiers who opened fire and shot three of the villagers dead. Three days later, on 30 January, the village head asked the security forces for permission to go and recover the bodies for burial, but the commander rejected the request, and is reported to have said: 'Let their bodies rot.'
3. On 26 January, a well-known Indonesian anti-corruption activist, Farid Faqih was arrested while he was helping with the distribution of aid. It was alleged that he had been stealing relief aid. A few days after his arrest, while still in custody, he was hospitalised because he had sustained injuries to his face inflicted while under interrogation. His lawyer, Daniel Panjaitan, who was shocked to see his client's physical state, has called for his immediate release.
4. On 2 February, members of the security forces were conducting sweeping operations. According to our source, more than one hundred soldiers were lined up along the Medan-Banda Aceh highway, in the vicinity of crossing 348. A number of civilians who were travelling in private vehicles were ordered to stop and their vehicles were checked. Many personal belongings were confiscated. One of the villagers, Abdurrachman bin Sulaiman, from Sematang Keude Alue Niroh, subdistrict Peureulak Timur, was arrested by Satuan Gabungan Inteligen. He was beaten until he fainted, and was thrown onto the back of a military truck. His present whereabouts are not known.
5. On the same day, 2 February, a man and his wife who was three and a half months pregnant, set out from their village, Dusun Suka Makmur Alue On-Babah Krung, to go to a clinic in Sungoe Raya to have the wife's condition checked. After 15 minutes, local people stopped them to warn them that the TNI was conducting sweepings and had beaten many people, but the couple decided to continue their journey, because they had identity cards and they felt that the purpose of the journey would secure them safe passage. When they stopped at the home of the wife's father, Tgk Abbas, he decided to accompany his daughter, Nilawaty binti M. Abbas. When they were later ordered to stop at a checkpoint, the father slowed down, and shots rang out. The pregnant woman had been hit in the head, just above the right ear. With the help of local people, she was rushed to the General Hospital at Kota Langsa but died on her father's lap, before reaching the hospital.
6. On 7 February, two US-based human rights organisations, Human Rights Watch and Human Rights First, warned that plans by the security forces in Aceh to register and relocate more than 100,000 people displaced by the tsunami could threaten their right to return to their homes, if they so wish. The organisations fear that the decision of the government to re-settle the people in semi-permanent barracks-style camps could be misused by the military to control the population. According to the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, displaced persons should be relocated with full and informed consent, but when being registered the IDPs were not being offered adequate information on alternatives about how or where they will be relocated.
These incidents point to a pattern of violence and intimidation being pursued by the Indonesian armed forces in Aceh, causing many deaths and inflicting totally unwarranted tribulations on the Acehnese people at a time of great suffering.
TAPOL urges you to take up these serious matters with the Indonesian Government, calling for these incidents to be investigated and for all members of the security forces responsible to be brought to justice.
Yours sincerely
Carmel Budiardjo
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