LAKSAMANA.Net, June 20, 2004 11:44 PM
Review - Regions: Exiles Arrested, Released
Laksamana.Net - Swedish prosecutors announced the arrests Tuesday (15/6/04) of
two top exiled leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for allegedly violating
international law in a breakthrough for Indonesian efforts to isolate the movement.
"Action has been taken against three persons suspected of grave breaches of
international law. The suspects are considered to be leaders of the GAM movement,"
Swedish state prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand was quoted as saying in Stockholm. The
three were self-styled GAM foreign minister Zaini Abdullah, 63, and the self-styled
Prime Minister Malik Mahmood, 64, and GAM chief Hasan Tiro, 80, who was not
arrested because of health reasons.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the arrests showed the
steadfast commitment of the Swedish government to fully support Indonesia in
combating separatism in Aceh.
"It is the hope of the government and the people of Indonesia that the continuing legal
process against GAM leadership in Sweden can be concluded in a just and speedy
manner, so that it would contribute to ending armed rebellion and acts of violence and
terrorism in Aceh and other regions," he said in a statement.
Jakarta has been pressing Stockholm for the past year to curb the activities of the
exiled leadership. The arrests come several weeks after Swedish prosecutors visited
Indonesia to investigate suspected links between exiled GAM leaders in Sweden and
the violence in Aceh.
On Friday (18/6/04) the Huddinge District Court in Stockholm ordered the release of
the two detainees, ruling that prosecutors "have not presented enough evidence to
justify their further detention".
"The court decided that there was not enough evidence to keep them in custody,"
court clerk Lars Berger said. The decision came just after three police officers were
dispatched from Jakarta to Sweden to supply more evidence of the GAM leaders'
involvement in acts of violence in Indonesia. Berger said he did not know if
prosecutors would pursue their probe.
In Aceh, GAM commander-in-chief Muzakkir Manaf said the fight was not affected by
the legal process against their leaders in Sweden and any more arrests would not
dampen their fight.
After the arrests GAM was urged to end their 27-year fight for independence. "GAM
should immediately halt its activities and join other people in building Aceh so that its
people can live prosperously," said military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto on
Wednesday (16/6/04).
Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, head of the House of Representatives (DPR) Defense and
Security Commission, urged GAM members to surrender "so that they can fight for
the aspirations of Aceh and its people in a constitutional way and not through
violence."
Troops kill eight rebels
Two soldiers and two suspected rebels were killed on Tuesday (15/6/04). The military
said troops shot dead two guerrillas in separate clashes in the districts of East Aceh
and Pidie and confiscated a rocket-propelled grenade and ammunition. Troops killed
six other suspected rebels on Thursday (17/6/04), said spokesman Lt. Col. Asep
Sapari. The six were killed in separate incidents in northern and eastern Aceh.
Three other alleged separatists were captured alive, he said. Troops confiscated
several automatic weapons, two grenade launchers and rice and drugs.
Appeals rejected
In Jakarta, the Supreme Court rejected Friday (18/6/04) the appeals of five GAM
negotiators, an Acehnese woman activist, two referendum supporters and an
Acehnese lecturer. The Court upheld the earlier verdicts against the nine, saying the
local court had solid evidence to back its verdicts.
"We rejected the appeals because we consider the Aceh High Court presented the
correct arguments," said Justice Iskandar Kamil.
Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, GAM's chief negotiator, was sentenced to 15 years in jail, while
negotiators Tengku Muhamad Lampo Awe, Tengku Kamaruzzaman, Nashiruddin
Ahmad and Amni bin Ahmad Marzuki Mahmud received 13 years each.
Activist Cut Nur Asikin is serving an 11-year jail term. She was a member of the
Srikandi Aceh women's organization, but security authorities accused her of also
leading GAM's female armed wing, Inong Balee.
Muhammad Nazar and Reza Pahlevi, the chairman and deputy chairman of the Aceh
Referendum Information Center, were sentenced to five years and three years in jail
respectively for defaming the government.
Yudhoyono in Aceh
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, leading presidential candidate in latest polls, was chief
security minister when martial law was imposed in May last year and Jakarta
launched its biggest offensive ever against the rebels.
On Friday (18/6/04) he flew to the province and, amid tight security, told student
leaders about his approach to the conflict were he to be elected president.
"If I am elected, I will keep (trying) to solve the Aceh problem with two pillars. First,
the armed separatist movement must be halted through solutions for peace,''
Yudhoyono said.
"Second, the issues of justice and dignity in Aceh that have been felt lacking and
have become one of the triggers for conflict must be dealt with through special
autonomy,'' he said.
Yudhoyono vowed to achieve peace in Aceh and restore dignity to people there if he
was voted to office, though he did not spell out just how he would achieve a solution to
the conflict.
Police Hunt Murder Suspect
Provincial police are scouring the city of Palu for the prime suspect in the killing of
prosecutor Ferry Silalahi, after a police raid on his hideout in Poso found he had
already fled.
Silalahi, a prosecutor handling terrorism cases in Palu, was shot on May 26 in his car
by four gunmen on two motorcycles after attending an evening prayer service with his
wife. She survived the attack.
Investigators believe the suspect has not yet left Poso. "We are aware of his (general)
hiding place and have deployed a group of our detectives to observe the area," Central
Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridho said Friday (18/6/04).
Police have set up checkpoints on the roads exiting Poso in the latest attempt to
bring him into custody.
Also in Palu, police bomb disposal officers sealed off three Bank Mandiri branch
offices on Friday after a manager received bomb threats on his cell phone. Police said
they believed the threats were a hoax. The text message said bombs had been
placed at the three branches.
Rights Trials to Continue
A panel of judges dismissed on Monday (14/6/04) defense pleas by Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) deputy chief Brig. Gen. Johny Wainal Usman and Papua police spokesman
Adj. Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing, charged with human rights abuses in Papua, ruling
that their ad hoc rights trials must continue in Makassar.
The charges laid by prosecutors against the two defendants complied with "formal and
material conditions" as regulated in Article 153 (2a) of the Criminal Code Procedures
the judges said.
Presiding judge Jalaluddin Amin said the court would summon at least 98 witnesses
to testify for or against, Usman, 49, and Sihombing, 45. Lawyers for the two
defendants said they would appeal the ruling.
The two could face jail terms of 25 years to life if found guilty of rights abuses. Last
month, prosecutors told the Makassar court that both were guilty of violating articles
39 and 42 of Law No. 26/2000 on human rights.
The two failed to prevent their subordinates from committing rights violations,
according to prosecutors. Neither did they hand over their subordinates to the
authorities for investigation and prosecution.
The alleged abuses took place on December 7, 2000, in Abepura, about 20 kilometers
south of the Papua capital Jayapura. They were triggered when 30 residents armed
with sharp weapons attacked and set fire to the Abepura Police station at about 1.30
a.m.
Police allegedly arrested, assaulted and tortured at least 99 residents suspected of
having been involved in the attack, resulting in three deaths. Elkuis Suhunaib, 18,
reportedly died during the search while Johny Karunggu, 18, and Orry Doronggi, 17,
allegedly were tortured to death.
At the time of the incident, Usman was the commander of the Jayapura Mobile
Brigade and Sihombing was the local police chief.
Papua Tribes Settle Feud
Two conflicting tribes, the Damal and Nduga, in Papua province have agreed to end
the bloody tribal conflict that has killed two tribesmen on each side.
Besides causing the deaths of four warriors, the clashes also left at least 123 people
injured. Peace was only agreed after the death toll from both sides had become equal
-- two from each side.
A traditional peace ceremony was held in Old Kwamki village in Timika on Tuesday
(15/6/04), during which the tribes people sacrificed two pigs, broke the string of a bow
and fired two salvos of shots into the air to mark the accord.
The peace deal was signed by representatives from both sides and witnessed by
Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Paulus Waterpauw.
Security personnel from the Mimika Police and the military kept the two groups from
coming into direct contact.
The Damal tribe was represented at the meeting by Pagugingme Murib, a relative of
the dead victims on the Damal side, and Simeon Murib, who lost two of his family
members in the conflict, from the Nduga side.
Both showed remorse and expressed their desire for an end to the conflict. "Don't let
this war lead to the deaths of any more of our brothers as they represent the next
generations of our tribes," said Murib.
"This conflict has lead to the deaths of two of my brothers and that is why I want
peace. We have lost kinsmen as a result of this conflict," said Murib.
Governor "Illegitimate"
The State Administrative Court ruled on Tuesday (15/6/04) against a law appointing
Abraham Octavianus Atururi as West Irian Jaya governor.
Several prominent Papuan figures immediately called on the government to comply
with the court's ruling that Presidential Decree No. 213/2003 appointing the governor
was contrary to the 2001 law on special autonomy. They warned Papuan people
would lose trust in the central government if the court ruling went unheeded.
Simon Patris Morin, a Golkar Party legislator from Papua, urged President Megawati
Sukarnoputri to abide by the verdict. Megawati would have to recognize the Papuan
people's opposition to her decree if she wished to win their support in the coming
presidential election, he said.
Provincial legislature speaker John Ibo and the Advocacy Team for Papua's Special
Autonomy have asked the Constitutional Court for a judicial review of the decree that
enforces Law No. 45/1999 on the formation of West and Central Irian Jaya provinces
in Papua.
The declaration creating the Central Irian Jaya province was suspended in August last
year following a bloody clash between supporters and opponents of the new province
in Timika. Six people died in the conflict and dozens of others were injured.
There is widespread opposition in Papua to the division of the province. Many people
have criticized the central government for its inconsistency in enforcing the special
autonomy law and its decision to split the natural resource-rich province for security
and economic reasons.
Director General of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy Affairs at the
Ministry of Home Affairs, Oentarto Sindung Mawardi, said the government would lodge
an appeal against the ruling with the High Administrative Court.
No Show by General
Former Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika, who led the
investigation into the deadly Bali bombings, failed to show up at the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office in Jakarta on Monday (14/6/04).
He had been summoned for questioning over alleged rights abuses in the province in
2001. At least 16 people were tortured and three killed in Wasior district, Manokwari
regency, when dozens of homes were burned down by police in raids triggered by the
killing of six police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel, who were guarding a local
company.
Police blamed the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) for the murders. As well
as Pastika, who is now chief of the Bali police, Komnas HAM had also summoned
three other police personnel, who also failed to attend.
Komnas HAM member Hasballah M. Saad explained that National Police chief Gen.
Da'i Bachtiar has instructed all police commanders to stay in their office during the
month-long campaign period.
Train Crash Kills Seven
A cargo train collided with a minibus in Central Java early Tuesday (15/6/04), killing
seven people and injuring three others, police and paramedics said.
All seven who died were in the minibus, said Eni Nur, a nurse at the Keraton Hospital
where the bodies were taken.
Police suspect that a guard at the rail crossing failed to lower the gate as the train
approached, Solihin said.
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