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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2004Indonesia continues its vicious oppression in AchehIndonesia is continuing to kill, torture and imprison people in the province of Acheh, where martial law has been in effect since last May. Foreigners, journalists and humanitarian organizations are banned from Acheh, and the military abuses continue without witnesses. Anyone who opposes martial law is accused of being a member of the Free Acheh Movement (GAM), the guerrilla movement that is seeking independence. One activist there told me, "The government says Acheh is now safe, yet people disappear and get tortured every day." The commander-in-chief of the Indonesian military stated recently, "The main enemies of the military are human rights and democracy. So whoever opposes the military operation in Acheh is a separatist." MILITARY USES ANY MEANS Recently, the Indonesian Red Cross and the International Committee for the Red Cross were permitted back into Acheh. They were quickly infiltrated by the army and used to kill innocent civilians, particularly in East Acheh. The army even fortified ambulances and used them to conduct military "sweeps" for guerrillas in the villages. The Red Cross has since withdrawn its workers again. As a result, many people in the villages, forests and other remote areas are not getting any medical services at all. Indonesia has arrested and detained more than a thousand Achehnese on allegations that they support GAM. Almost all those arrested are civilians (actual GAM fighters are shot on sight), including community leaders, peaceful activists, family members of GAM fighters, and people who simply have the same name as GAM fighters. Many imams (religious leaders) in the villages are arrested for performing their duty to wash the dead bodies of GAM fighters. Over 500 of those arrested have been convicted of "crimes against the state" (makar). This includes villagers who, when the military asks where GAM is hiding, say that they do not know, and shopkeepers who merely sold GAM some rice. Also convicted were the former negotiators for GAM, whom the government earlier engaged in peace talks--they got 11 to 15-year sentences; M. Nazar, student leader, four years for speaking at a rally; and Cut Nur Asikin, a woman community activist, 11 years. Because of martial law, Nazar was not released Dec. 27 as the law required; instead, he became a hostage of the military. TRIALS, INTIMIDATION People arrested by the military are brought to military posts, investigated and charged by the military. Then the police pass the charges on to the civilian authorities, who prosecute them in sham trials. The vast majority of those charged do not have lawyers; no one outside the capital city can get a lawyer. Others have lawyers who are actually working for the prosecution and advise them to confess to being GAM, even though they are not, under the threat of getting heavier sentences if they do not confess. The few honest lawyers are subject to constant intimidation from the military, and are in physical danger while doing their jobs. One lawyer told me, "I want to visit the victims, but if I do, I become the victim." At the trials, some as short as 20 minutes, there is only one witness for the prosecution--the arresting military officer--and no witnesses for the defense. People awaiting trial are routinely beaten with planks, or cut with knives and their wounds rubbed with alcohol and vinegar. One man in Lhok Seumawe was tortured to death and then hanged in his underwear; the police told the media he killed himself, but could not explain how he got the wounds and the rope. About 140 people who have been sentenced to three years or more have been transferred to notorious prisons in Java, far away from their homes and families. Without their families being notified, they are taken to Java in chains, some of them barefoot, and thrown into trucks. The military forces them to lie on the floor and sits on either side with their feet on the victims' bodies. They are being sent all over Java and mixed in with the general prison population. In Ambarawa Prison in Central Java, all political prisoners from Acheh are tortured daily. One prisoner sent his family a message that he was fed only rice containing worms. Conditions are undoubtedly worse in Nusa Kambangan, an island prison for murderers, etc. BOB DOLE FRONTS FOR TORTURE The Indonesian government recently hired former presidential candidate Bob Dole as its lobbyist to create a better image for itself in the U.S. When BBC News asked him about Acheh, he professed not to know there was any killing there, and when pressed, said, "Don’t sink the whole country because of a problem in one little place." Please send letters protesting martial law and human rights violations in Acheh to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, c/o Indonesian Embassy, 2020 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; Fax. (202) 775-5365, with a copy to Acheh Center, achehcenter@yahoo.com. Contact Acheh Center (717-343-1598) for information or to offer support. --Reyza Zain |
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