LAKSAMANA.Net, August 29, 2004 11:56 PM
Review - Regions: French Railway for Aceh
Laksamana.Net - State-owned French company SNCF International said Friday
(27/8/04) it was ready to construct a 483-kilometer railway connecting the provincial
capital of Banda Aceh to the neighboring North Sumatra town of Besitang.
"We are ready to construct the railway and are awaiting support from the provincial
administration as well as the central government,” Michel Antraigue, representing
SNCF International, said after meeting Aceh provincial officials.
Antraigue said the company was serious about developing railway infrastructure and
networks in Indonesia. "Rail-based transportation is very important for developing the
regions to anticipate road traffic congestion," he added.
SNCF International is working on the 1,300-kilometer Beijing-Shanghai railway in
China and the 1,600-kilometer connecting Jeddah, Mecca and Madina in Saudi
Arabia.
Separately, the head of Aceh Transportation Agency Usman Budiman said the railway
would cost some Rp7.4 trillion and would be funded by the State Budget and the
Aceh Provincial Budget.
"So far we have completed the preparation phase of the project," he said, adding that
the first phase from Besitang to Langsa is expected to be operational in 2006.
Police deny graft
Police have denied charges that they embezzled billions of rupiah from material
procurement and construction projects in Aceh while the province was under martial
law.
"We found no mark-ups in the projects. We have submitted the results of our
investigation to the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs and the
KPK," National Police chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar said Friday (27/8/04).
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Taufiequrrachman Ruki had said
Tuesday (24/8/04) that a total of Rp2.7 trillion had been embezzled from 68 projects
run by various government agencies. The martial law administrator set up the
monitoring team.
Bachtiar said it was now up to the KPK to determine whether markups did occur in
the projects.
A joint monitoring team (TMP) is investigating how Rp10 trillion ($10.7 million) in
government funds was spent during twelve months of martial law.
The money was channeled through various organizations, including the police
(Rp508.8 billion), the military (Rp1.9 trillion) and the education and transportation
agencies, according to the TMP.
Bachtiar said his office carried out a preliminary investigation after being notified by
the monitoring team last month of the alleged mark-ups.
He said a team chaired by former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad found
differences between the prices of materials stated in the budget and the actual prices
of the materials bought. However, after checking the quality of the materials the team
decided the prices were appropriate.
Troops kill six rebels
Six separatist rebels died in clashes in the province while guerrillas shot dead two
civilians, the military said Saturday (28/8/04). Military spokesman Asep Sapari said
separatists were killed in separate clashes in two districts in the north of the region on
Friday (27/8/04). Soldiers seized an AK-47 assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of
ammunition from the men, he said, adding that rebels also killed two civilians in
Southwest Aceh in separate incidents on Thursday and Friday.
Troops Deployed to Sumba
The Wirasakti Military Command plans to dispatch around 100 soldiers to help police
return order to West Sumba following a rise in the number of robberies and murders in
the regency during the past few weeks.
East Nusa Tenggara military commander Col. Moeswarno Moesanip said Friday
(27/8/04) the West Sumba regency government had asked that the troops be sent
immediately.
The last serious crime occurred two weeks ago when a university student was robbed
and killed by a group of men armed with machetes and spears.
Navy Officer Kills Four
A Navy officer shot dead four soldiers in a shooting spree that left another one
critically wounded, a military official said Tuesday (24/8/04).
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari said the officer, First. Lt. Patrik Simorangkir,
had been assigned in Aceh for 11 months and probably suffered from depression
during his military service there.
The fatal incident occurred early Tuesday morning when several dozen TNI personnel
were doing morning exercises in a field in Neusu Jaya military base in Banda Aceh
municipality, the capital of the province.
The soldiers reportedly heard gunfire coming from a dormitory in the complex of the
military base and quickly encircled the dormitory.
They found five people on the floor in a corner of the dormitory. The four dead were
First. Lt. Dedy, First. Sgt. Pandiangan, Chief Sgt. Bambang and Chief. Pvt. Suyatno.
The only survivor in the incident was Chief. Pvt. Wawan, who sustained serious
gunshot wounds.
GAM Inmates Moved
Seventy-four convicted Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists were sent to West
Java on Thursday (26/8/04) amid tight security.
The 74 inmates, including four former GAM negotiators, were flown from Banda Aceh
in the morning aboard a C-130 (Hercules) aircraft.
When the plane landed at Husein Sastranegara Air Force Base in Bandung, hundreds
of heavily armed police officers surrounded the aircraft. Five buses were waiting to
transport the inmates to prisons in five regencies in West Java province.
The military and officials from the five prisons in West Java signed a memorandum of
understanding at the air base, paving the way for the prisons to receive and house the
inmates.
Escorted by police officers, 17 of the inmates were loaded onto a bus and transferred
to Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung regency. Seventeen others were sent to Cirebon
Prison, 13 to Indramayu Prison, 14 to Majalengka Prison and the remaining 13
inmates were transferred to Kuningan Prison.
The 74 inmates are among 415 GAM inmates who have been transferred from Aceh
prisons to prisons in Java. The first transfer took place in January this year.
The TNI says the transfers are aimed at solving the problem of overcrowding in Aceh
prisons. They are also aimed at cutting ties between the GAM inmates and other
Acehnese inmates and the Acehnese community as a whole.
The 74 inmates are all serving prison sentences of between three and 20 years for
treason.
Sofyan Ibrahim, the former top GAM negotiator, was originally to have been included
among the GAM inmates transferred to West Java, but was excluded because of
illness.
Three other former GAM negotiators, Tengku Kamaruzzaman and Muhammad
Usman, who are serving 13-year sentences, and Amni Achmad Marzuki, who was
sentenced to 12 years in jail, will have special cells at Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung.
The fourth former negotiator, Nashirudin bin Achmed, who is serving a 13-year jail
term, was transferred to Cirebon Prison.
Marines Dismissed over Deadly Raid
Lt. Col. Bambang Sutrisno, who was installed only on Tuesday (24/8/04) as the
Piabung Marine Corps commander in Lampung province, was dismissed Friday
(27/8/04) following a raid by marines on a village concert in Gebang, Padangcermin
district in which one person died and at least six others were injured.
Six marines -- First Sgt. Sudiarto, First Pvt. Adi Rohano, First Pvt. Ujang Supriyatna,
Chief Sgt. Eko Suroyo, Second Pvt. Jeremy Purba and Second Pvt. Sunaryo -- were
also dishonorably discharged from the corps for their alleged involvement in the
incident.
The attack took place on Wednesday night (25/8/04) when dozens of marines arrived
by truck in full uniform and launched a raid on an electronic keyboard concert being
held to celebrate Independence Day, killing Mugi, 26, and injuring six others.
One eyewitness, Suwito, described it as a savage attack: "Children were kicked,
women beaten and other innocent villagers were attacked with sickles, bayonets and
canes."
He said the raid followed a minor incident during a similar concert on Tuesday at
neighboring Ketapang village, when a car carrying marines hit a villager. Local police
seized the car as evidence, which angered the marines, claimed Suwito.
South Lampung Regent Zulkifli Anwar has promised to cover the funeral costs of the
dead man and the other victims' medical treatment.
On Thursday, hundreds of residents of Padangcermin district staged a rally at the
Lampung administration building to protest the attack and oppose the presence of
marines.
On Friday the streets of Gebang village remained deserted except for dozens of police
officers on guard.
The Piabung marine battalion, comprising 552 personnel, is tasked with securing the
Strait of Malacca and the territorial waters of Banten, Jakarta and Aceh.
Marine Corps Commander Gen. Achmad Rifai, who presided over a special ceremony
at the Piabung marine base to dismiss Bambang and his six subordinates, said the
36 other marines would also be punished.
"All the attackers will receive sanctions, ranging from discharge to demotion. They are
being investigated and will be prosecuted under the Criminal Code," he said, adding
that any marine who made a "fatal mistake and hurt people's hearts" would not be
tolerated. Lt. Col. Prasojo Sunarto was installed to replace Bambang.
Rifai apologized to the victims' families and provided them with financial assistance,
and paid a visit to residents living near Piabung marine base, saying he hoped the
incident would be the last involving marines and civilians.
US Wants E. Timor Truth Commission
The United States' proposal to form an International Truth Commission for human
rights abuses in East Timor, made during a recent United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) assembly, is unclear, Indonesia's permanent representative to the UN Rezlan
Ishar Jeniel said in New York Friday (27/8/04).
"We have to study further the commission proposal made by the US delegation to the
UNSC meeting because its objective and form are unclear," Jenie said.
Rezlan said the proposal was apparently advanced due to US disappointment over the
Indonesian appeal court's decision to overturn lower court convictions for human rights
abuses in East Timor.
During the UNSC meeting, which discussed the report of the UN Mission of Support in
East Timor (UNMISET), US delegation representative Stuart Holliday expressed his
concern over the Indonesian ad-hoc human rights tribunal.
The ad-hoc court was set up to punish those responsible for human rights abuses
after the UN-sponsored ballot in East Timor in 1999 that led to the territory's
separation from Indonesia.
Judging that the Indonesian court had failed to punish the perpetrators, the US
delegation proposed the formation of an independent International Truth Commission.
Several other countries including the Netherlands, Portugal and New Zealand also
expressed dissatisfaction over the ad-hoc court's rulings.
The Indonesian government had told these countries that the legal process in the
country during the present reform and democratic era was independent, Rezlan said.
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