LAKSAMANA.Net, April 5, 2004 01:10 AM
Review - Regions: Aceh Militias Mobilized
Laksamana.Net - Provincial police will mobilize thousands of members of a civilian
paramilitary group armed with machetes and spears to help guard the polling stations
in Aceh. The government-sponsored Aceh Separatist Resistance Front will assist
some 13,000 police officers.
"We will mobilize them to deter the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from
foiling the upcoming election," Aceh police Chief Insp. Gen. Bahrumsyah Kaman said
Monday (29/3/04).
The militia group is reported to have thousands of members spread across the
province. They were first recruited last year from each sub-district when the
Indonesian military (TNI) began massive military operations in the troubled province.
Each sub-district contributes at least 20 members each.
"They will guard their sub-districts themselves, so that when local residents go to
vote, GAM members will not dare to disrupt anything," said Kaman.
Voters from 25 villages considered GAM strongholds would have to cast their votes at
the nearest polling stations outside of the areas that GAM controls, Aceh police
election coordinator Sr. Comr. Dadang Angga said Friday (2/2/04).
There are 5,090 villages across the natural resource-rich province. Around 2.4 million
people are eligible to vote in Aceh.
Though martial law administrator, Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya, warned on Tuesday
(30/3/04) that foreign watchers would only be allowed to monitor the elections in safe
areas, a local elections official confirmed Thursday (1/4/04) that no less than 984
watchers from 12 domestic institutions have been registered with the General
Elections Commission (KPU) in Aceh.
The Japanese government has registered two officials of its embassy in Jakarta with
KPU headquarters in Aceh.
12 Rebels Killed in One Day
In February the military said it had temporarily stopped announcing the rebel death toll
it had publicized almost daily since launching a major operation 10 months ago to
crush GAM.
However, it has resumed periodic announcements of rebel casualties and a military
spokesman confirmed Wednesday (31/3/04) that troops shot dead 12 suspected
separatist rebels a day earlier.
The rebels were shot dead in eight separate clashes in five Aceh districts on Tuesday
(30/3/04), Aceh military spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari said, adding that seven
firearms and hundreds of bullets had been seized.
In East Aceh, three children were badly injured Wednesday by a homemade bomb
believed to have be discarded by rebels, a local policeman said.
The bomb went off after the children unknowingly set fire to a pile of garbage where
the device had been thrown, the policeman said.
Police Charged with Papua Torture
Prosecutors have indicted two senior police officers on charges of allowing their men
to torture hundreds of people in Papua province.
Proceedings against the commander of the Brimob paramilitary police unit, Brig. Gen.
Johny Wainal, and Jayapura police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing will be the
first rights trials held in eastern Indonesia, government prosecutor Mailan Syarief said
Thursday (1/4/04).
Both are charged with "not preventing or stopping the violence" perpetrated by men
under their command and with not handing them over to authorities for prosecution. If
convicted, they could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The case revolves round an incident on December 7, 2000, when dozens of Papuans
set ablaze a police station in the provincial capital.
After the mob killed a policeman and wounded three others, police arrested and
abused hundreds of villagers suspected of involvement in the violence.
Three teenagers died in police custody after allegedly being tortured by police. Human
rights groups have slammed Jakarta for delaying prosecution of those responsible for
the deaths.
Andi Haedar, head of the court in the city of Makassar where the trial will be held,
said he received the indictments on Wednesday (31/3/04) but a date for the trial had
not been set.
"We will be ready to try this case after judges from Jakarta arrive because they are
more qualified for human rights cases," said Haedar.
Dozens of witnesses will be brought from Jayapura to Makassar to testify at the trial.
13 Dead at Sea
At least 13 people died and one is still missing after a motorboat overturned in a
remote area of Papua early Wednesday (31/3/04).
The boat, with 30 passengers aboard, reportedly left a mangrove forest area in Urfasei,
Waropen regency, west of Jayapura, for an undisclosed destination in the same
regency when it capsized.
A survivor, Lukas Nubun, said strong waves hit the overloaded boat, captained by
Robin Dubino, when crossing the mouth of the Raywoto River.
He also noted that most of the passengers had been drinking large quantities of beer,
which may have impeded their ability to save themselves.
Waropen Regent Ones Ramenday visited the survivors on Thursday at the local
hospital where they are being treated.
Freeport Ambush Witness Retracts
A key witness to the 2002 ambush in Papua that left two Americans and one
Indonesian dead has changed his testimony that soldiers were responsible for the
incident.
The attack, on August 31, 2002, killed two US teachers and an Indonesian colleague.
Gunmen fired on the convoy carrying employees of the Freeport gold and copper
mine.
Testifying during a hearing on Wednesday (31/3/04) of a defamation case against
Papua-based human rights watchdog Elsham, Decky Murib denied he saw soldiers
carry out the attack and claimed the rights group paid him to implicate soldiers from
the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in the ambush.
Elsham failed to pay him the promised Rp10 million ($1,176) and a trip to the US in
return for claiming he had witnessed the incident, he said. Murib said he felt cheated.
The defamation suit was brought against Elsham by the Indonesian Military (TNI) for
accusing its soldiers of being involved in the attack.
The military is demanding that the rights group pay it Rp50 billion in damages and
make a public apology through local and international media.
The FBI has helped with the investigation into the attack after US legislators
demanded a full accounting of the incident before any moves are made to resume
military-to-military relations with Indonesia.
In November 2002, Papua Police said Murib had told them that he knew the names of
four of the 11 soldiers involved in the attack. The police said Murib had been an
informer and guide for Kopassus in Papua.
Murib testified that at the time of the ambush, he was at home in Timika, dozens of
kilometers from the scene of the attack, and that he only learned of the incident from
a local newspaper.
Weeks after the attack, Murib said, three Elsham activists -- Dani Gobani, Paula
Makabori and John Rumbiak -- took him to a church in Timika, where he said he was
asked to confess to having witnessed the killings.
Murib said he was later sent home after the activists promised him money and a trip
to America in return for his claim.
Elsham denied it had promised Murib cash or overseas trips. The trial was adjourned
until April 15, at which time the court will hear from the defendants.
Commenting on Murib's retraction of his earlier statement, Trikora Military Chief Maj.
Gen. Nurdin Zainal said it was a "victory" for TNI.
Reinforcements Sent to Poso
Calm was finally restored in the regency of Poso on Wednesday (31/3/04) after a
series of shooting incidents that killed a Christian minister and badly injured an
academic.
Around 100 police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel were deployed from Jakarta to
help provide tight security as local leaders met at the legislative council to discuss the
security situation ahead of the April 5 legislative election.
There are now some 3,500 police and soldiers deployed in the Poso area, police
spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto confirmed in the provincial capital, Palu.
Police were reportedly questioning a man of Arab descent who was arrested on
Tuesday (30/3/04) for his alleged involvement in recent shootings, he said.
He added that police and soldiers were searching for other suspects and had
strengthened their coordination in Poso to prevent more attacks.
Unknown assailants shot dead the Rev. Freddy Wuisan and badly injured Rosia
Pilongo, the dean of the school of law at Sintuwu Maroso University, in two separate
incidents on Tuesday (30/3/04).
Pilongo suffered severe injuries to her head and right hand after two people on a
motorcycle fired shots at her then quickly fled the area.
Wuisan died after he was shot in the chest six hours later in Membuke subdistrict in
Poso Pesisir district, some 30 kilometers west of Poso regency.
The situation in the town of Poso itself was tense with locals out on the streets till late
at night though local leaders calmed them to prevent possible clashes with the police.
Medan Bomb Suspects Arrested
Police have arrested three suspects in connection with the discovery of five bombs in
an Indonesian supermarket last month.
They were captured Wednesday (31/3/04) in Medan, the provincial capital of North
Sumatra, about 1,400 kilometers northwest of Jakarta.
National police spokesman Brig. Gen. Sunarko Ardanto declined to provide further
information about the detainees, saying detectives were still searching for other
suspects.
Police have questioned 20 witnesses since the explosive devices were found March 8
near the Medan Mall Supermarket's main entrance, he said.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has provided Indonesian police with technical
assistance for the investigation, but Sunarko said the officers have yet to determine
where the explosives came from.
Police in Medan also defused two homemade bombs in a market in January, a day
after a small bomb exploded in the city but caused no casualties.
The police connected the January find with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) guerrillas,
who've been fighting for the independence of nearby Aceh province since 1976.
Police in Medan late on Tuesday also arrested two suspected GAM members based
in the neighboring province of Aceh.
The two are under intensive questioning at North Sumatra provincial police
headquarters, said a spokesman, Senior Commissioner Amrin Karim.
"They had been on our list of wanted men for quite some time. Both are tax collectors
for GAM which levies a tax on boats," Karim said.
Police Probe Kampar Regent's Dismissal
As Kampar returns to normal after the recent dismissal of regent Jefri Noer, police
have summoned three teachers to clarify their role in the protests, and plan to
summon another 16 for questioning.
"They are being summoned by the police due to allegations that they have violated the
law on child protection," Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Syarif Pandiangan
confirmed on Monday (29/3/04).
Syarif said the three were Basrun, the acting head of education and sports office at
Kampar regency administration, M. Yasir, the chairman of the All-Indonesia Teachers
Association (PGRI) Kampar branch and Abdul Muis, the head of the education and
sports office at Siak Hulu district in Kampar.
Syarif said the three would be charged with violating Law No. 23/2003 on child
protection, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Syarif accused the teachers of manipulating and mobilizing students to join the
protests and strike against Regent Jefri Noer during the course of 12 days, paralyzing
classes in the regency.
He said police had collected evidence including a circular dated March 21 that asked
teachers and students in the regency to stage a strike.
The circular also asked the students and teachers to take to the streets to demand
Jefri's resignation.
Yuwilis, a lawyer for the three teachers, rejected the police accusations, claiming that
students protested of their own volition.
The trouble in Kampar began after Noer ordered a school principal to leave a meeting
between teachers and the regent after querying the low local budget committed to
education. The move sparked major protests, in which student and teacher protesters
demanded his resignation. The Kampar Legislative Council subsequently dismissed
Noer and the decision was upheld by the central government.
Eight More Bodies Found
The death toll from a landslide on Mount Bawakareng in South Sulawesi rose to 10
after eight more bodies were found, police said Thursday (1/4/04).
They said the number of missing victims following the disaster that hit Manimbahoi
village in Tinggimoncong sub-district, Gowa regency, now stood at 23.
Gowa Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Syamsuddin Yunus said the eight bodies were
discovered on Wednesday (31/3/04) in Lembang Lohe in Bulutana, Tinggimoncong
subdistrict.
Rescuers are combing affected areas as well as the forest to search for possible
survivors who may have fled for safer grounds when the landslide hit.
Meanwhile, rescuers are salvaging the belongings of villagers affected by the disaster
to deliver them to refugee camps, as the villagers refused to return to their homes for
fear of more landslides.
The Gowa administration will relocate 63 affected families from Tinggimoncong to a
safer area, officials said on Wednesday (31/3/04). The administration has allocated
between Rp10-15 million per family for the relocation.
Landslide Blocks W. Java Road
Access to the main road connecting Majalengka and Kuningan regencies in West
Java was cut briefly due to a landslide in Cimeong sub-district, Majalengka regency.
The road was blocked from dawn on Tuesday (30/3/04), preventing residents in the
two regencies from traveling between the two areas. Mud was seen covering the road
for the length of one kilometer. No fatalities or damage to buildings were reported due
to the incident.
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