LAKSAMANA.Net, September 6, 2004 12:53 AM
Review - Regions: Aceh Corruption Probe
Laksamana.Net - Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) chief, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto,
announced Wednesday (1/9/04) that he has ordered an investigation into corruption
allegedly perpetrated by the military during the implementation of martial law in Aceh.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has alleged misappropriation of Rp2.7
trillion in state funds in a total of 68 projects during martial law in Aceh. Two of the
projects involved the TNI.
"We have audited the funds and found no violations. But based on KPK information, I
have ordered (TNI's) internal supervision division to investigate it. We will be
transparent, but we have to wait for the result of the investigation," Sutarto told
reporters.
Eleven rebels killed
Troops killed eight separatist rebels from the outlawed Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in
three separate shootouts the province, an official said Tuesday (31/8/04).
"The armed contacts in the districts of North Aceh, South Aceh and Pidie on Monday
claimed the lives of eight rebels," local spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari was quoted
as saying by state news agency Antara.
Sapari said soldiers seized four assault rifles, a grenade launcher, hundreds of rounds
of ammunition, documents and various other items after the clashes.
Troops shot dead another three suspected separatists while 11 other suspected
rebels surrendered in six separate areas of the province, Sapari said Saturday
(4/9/04).
Sapari said soldiers in East Aceh killed three suspected separatists and 11
suspected rebels surrendered to troops in the districts of West Aceh, South Aceh,
East Aceh, Aceh Jaya, Nagan Raya and Bireuen.
"The rebels surrendered after troops raided their hideouts," Sapari said, adding that
three other suspected rebels were arrested during a raid in Monasa village, July sub
district, and Bireuen district.
Since May last year more than 2,200 alleged rebels have been killed, while about
3,600 have surrendered or been arrested, according to TNI. The military's claims of
rebel casualties have been virtually impossible to verify as authorities have imposed
severe restrictions on the movement of journalists in the province. Rights groups say
many of those killed were civilians.
TNI conceded last month that 147 civilians had been killed and 155 wounded during
the past 10 months in Aceh. Human rights activists say at least 13,000 people,
mostly civilians, have been killed since GAM began its fight for independence in 1976.
Military's Papua Record Slammed
Security forces carried out gross human rights abuses including murder, torture and
arbitrary arrests during two incidents in Papua province, the National Human Rights
Commission said on Friday (3/9/04).
The commission said two separate incidents in June 2001 and April 2003 in Papua,
where rebels have been waging a sporadic separatist campaign, had given troops
pretext to launch a violent crackdown.
It found "preliminary evidence that murder, torture and arrests" had been carried out
by military troops and police, the group's Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara told Agence
France-Presse.
The 2001 incident in the Papuan district of Wasior stemmed from the killings of five
elite police paramilitary personnel by unknown attackers during a raid on a base camp
of a private firm in the area.
Police carrying out a manhunt after the attack killed at least one civilian they accused
of involvement.
The 2003 case in Wamena district occurred after a raid on a military armory by
gunmen who made off with some 29 grenades and thousands of rounds of
ammunition.
The military, who had accused the rebel Free Papua Organization (OPM) of carrying
out the raid, deployed troops who allegedly had tortured and arrested civilians and
carried out arson in the area.
Amnesty International in a report last year said troops had tortured villagers and
torched homes during a hunt for separatist rebels.
The London-based group said a human rights activist who had been briefly detained at
a military headquarters in Wamena in April 2003 had reported seeing at least 20
detainees who had been tortured.
Abdul Hakim said his commission would submit its findings from both cases to the
Attorney General's Office for "further investigation and legal process".
PNG Troops to Patrol Border
Papua New Guinea plans to send soldiers to its border with Indonesia, amid reports of
clashes between local villagers and suspected pro-independence rebels from the
Indonesian province of Papua.
PNG's Minister for Border Affairs, Sir Peter Barter, was quoted as saying Wednesday
(1/9/04) that a platoon has been deployed to the remote border village of Weam and
will patrol the border area for the next fortnight.
Barter says the government has received a report of an attack on a PNG citizen by
alleged pro-independence rebels from across the Indonesian border.
He says the soldiers will conduct regular patrols in the area and will investigate the
alleged attack.
Barter notes that the PNG government is also concerned by reports that people from
the Indonesian side of the border have been illegally entering PNG to poach fish and
other wildlife.
Navy Seizes 128 boats
The Indonesian Navy has seized at least 128 boats in a series of operations between
May 27 and September 3 for violations, chief of the Western Indonesia Fleet, Vice
Adm. Yohannes Didiek Heru P., said in Batam on Friday (3/9/04).
"The boats were seized for a variety of reasons, ranging from smuggling, illegal fishing
and piracy to undersea treasure theft, sand mining and sea pollution," the admiral
said.
He explained that of the 128 boats, confiscated in the Strait of Malacca, the
Singapore Straits as well as waters off West Kalimantan and Riau, only 19 of the
perpetrators/captains had been taken to court.
The number of confiscated vessels dropped substantially from 356 last year. "The
drop in the number of negligent vessels showed that the Navy's operation managed to
help discourage transgressors from doing any crimes," he deduced.
Villagers Block Road Project
Hundreds of residents of four villages in Lampung blocked Sumatra's east coast
highway on Friday (3/9/04) to protest against a road development project inaugurated
by President Megawati Sukarnoputri three days earlier.
Vehicles were rerouted to alternative roads but the protest brought to a halt some 50
trucks belonging to the developer, PT Sangyong.
Protesters from Tambah Subur, Tambah Dadi, Tanjung Kesuma and Taman Negeri
villages, in Purbolinggo district, demanded the Lampung administration pay six
families a total of Rp150 million in compensation for land that has been used for the
project.
The project is funded by the state budget, with loans worth Rp550 billion from the
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Governors in Sumatra, who were responsible for land clearance, approved the project,
aimed at overcoming transport problems on the Sumatran highway stretching from
South Lampung to Aceh province.
In August last year, hundreds of Purbolinggo villagers received compensation for land
that was used for the project, but the six families allege they missed out.
Hundreds of residents of seven other villages have not been compensated for their
land, which was affected by the development of the 186-kilometer road.
Officials claimed the East Lampung administration had disbursed some Rp3 billion of
a total of Rp10.8 billion to clear land for the project since two years ago.
Three Shot in Student Clash
Three people suffered gunshot wounds Monday (30/8/04) in the third serious brawl in
two months involving university students in Makassar.
The three, from the School of Letters at the State University of Makassar (UNM) in the
Parangtambung area, were shot during a clash with students from the School of
Engineering.
Police are hunting down the students who fired the weapons as well as investigating
the clash as a whole, the third since early in July.
A company of 60 police personnel was sent to the campus to conduct patrols and
search for weapons among the students. No arrests have been made so far.
Top university officials met with officials from the School of Engineering, School of
Letters and School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences to prevent the ongoing feud
from escalating.
UNM deputy rector Abdul Gani said university leaders had given the police full access
to conduct investigations into those involved in the attack.
"Besides the police search, we are now looking for the students ourselves. Any
student who is proven to have used a gun in the incident will be dismissed," he said.
Christian Leader Slams Light Sentences
A Christian leader on Monday (30/8/04) criticized the four-year jail terms given to 12
Muslim militants found guilty of a bloody attack on a Christian village last year, saying
the punishment was too light.
The militants were sentenced on Saturday (28/8/04) for their involvement in the attack
last October that killed 12 people in the province, where sporadic violence still occurs
after large-scale sectarian clashes ended three years ago.
"These sentences were really unfair seeing the crimes were premeditated and
planned," said Arnold Tobondo, a leader of the Central Sulawesi Christian Church
Association. "They are an insult to human rights."
Four other suspects are still on trial in the attack in Beteleme village.
Mount Egon Erupts
Seismologists and officials on Wednesday (1/9/04) urged villagers to evacuate their
homes near Mount Egon volcano after it spewed ash and dust on Tuesday.
Yosef Ansa Rera, deputy district chief of Maumere, said several eruptions on Tuesday
had sparked fears about the safety of about 2,000 people living on the mountainside.
It was the second time in two months that the 1,703-meter volcano shot out ash,
volcanologist Syamsul Rizal said.
Officials and seismologists are continuing to observe the mountain's activity from a
nearby village, he said.
Several hundred villagers have been sheltering in government buildings in Maumere
since the mountain erupted in July.
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