INDONESIA/ACEH: Humanitarian workers and human rights activist attacked

Humanitarian workers and activist who are assistings victims of the on going arms conflict are often not welcome by both the armed rebels and the Indonesian military. Humanitarian workers and activist themeselves have become victims to violences, intimidation, torture and disappearances. 

21 August 1999 Two humanitarian workers from BEMA LAIN in Ar-Raniery were arrested by Polsek (military police)in Julok , East Aceh. 

18 November 1999 Six humanitarian workers from SEFA were arrested, stripped naked and tortured in jail at Makoramil Bakongan. 

6 January 2000 Two human rights activist from Peoples’ Crisis Centre [PCC] in Ie Rhoh, North Aceh, were attack in their centre by military personnels. The military also damaged and broke things in the PCC and took away all medicines from the cente. 

The above incidents are against the 1949 Geneva Convention which says that military personnel should protect humanitarian workers and the wounded. The situation in Aceh is continually worsening with a growing death toll and increasing numbers of Internally Displaced persons [IDP], mostly, villagers seeking refuge. The violence in Aceh has escalated. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: 

There are 25 million Acehnese in Sumatra and 5 million are living in Aceh region where poverty is very high as the revenues collected goes to the central government in Jakarta. Aceh is rich in natural resources. Aceh is oil producing region, producing 50% of Indonesian oil, gas and timber. 
All most all proceeds from investments goes to the central government and the jobs are often given to people from other regions. Reports indicate that Aceh contributes about twenty per cent of the national budget, but receives less then one per cent. Thus any solution should deal with this key issue. 

Since the downfall of Suharto, last year, thousands of Acehnese victims who had suffered in silence the abuses by the Indonesian military have began to be more visible. The documentation of the violations by the victims, supported by investigations from NGOs and the Indonesian Human Rights Commission revealed the serious abuses and brutalies committed by the military. The ABRI [armed forces] was forced to apologise and pull out its troops from Aceh. 

August 98, the he military commander-in-chief General Wiranto finally withdraw the special forces Kopassus from Aceh. The Kopassus troops were responsible for the tortures, killings, rapes and thedisappearances of thousands of Acehnese. 

Yet the military spread misinformation that the Aceh Merdeka Movement or GAM is a threat to the security. Anyone giving support for GAM activities would considered as ‘terrorist’, then under the anti-subversion law an offence punishable by death or long prison sentences. 

The army began their repressions again. The 3 February 99, Idi Cut, killings reveal their intention not to leave Aceh. The people of Aceh raise up to the situation calling for justice on 26 March 99, the people of Aceh called for a Referendum and the army attacekd with teargas and rubber bullets wounding more than a hundred people. 

A call for the withdrawal of all military forces, includes full withdrawal of the territorial army. This would mean dismantling the military commands, from the korem down to the babinsa. This spells out what ending the dwifungsi really means. Ending the armed forces dwifungsi is not just about ending the army’s control of key positions in executive and legislative bodies but also reducing the role to only defending the country against external attack. 

The Indonesian army’s territorial structure reaches down to the village, thus the military kept a close watch on every level of society. This is effectively used in daerah rawan or ‘trouble-spots’ like Aceh. Ending the dwifungsi challenges the emphasis on the security approach which lies at the root of all the repression – mass arrests, torture, unjust trials and conviction and the many massacres that occurred during Suharto’s New Order. 

The future status of Aceh 

Acehnese students and other sections of civil society are now calling for a Referendum because they see it as being the most democratic way for the people of Aceh to decide on their future status as a territory. Other groups are pressing for autonomy or federation, which means the devolution of many powers to local authorities. 

A draft law, which has not yet been made public, deals with the critical question of the division of revenues between the centre and the regions. This is especially critical for Aceh which has seen the proceeds of its abundant natural resources gobbled up by the central government, turning the region into one of the most poverty-stricken regions in the Republic. 

Another striking aspect of the draft law is that power is supposed to devolve to the kabupaten and municipalities, not to the provinces. 

This has been described as a policy of ‘divide and rule’, an attempt to contain the tendency towards separatism. 

Nor will autonomy status grant full rights over the exploitation of natural resources which are regarded as being too strategic to be released from central government control. 

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: 

AHRC calls on human rights groups to pressure Indonesia to protect humanitarian workers and human rights activist in Aceh. We also request for close monitoring and assistance to prevent the abuse of the Indoensian military against the people of Aceh. 

This worsening situation requires international attention and pressure should be exerted by the world community to prevent the military from continuing the atrocities against the ordinary villagers and human rights activists. 

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