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II. Methodology

This report consists almost entirely of first-hand testimony covering many districts in Aceh.  In the first quarter of 2004, Human Rights Watch traveled to Indonesia and interviewed thirty-five prisoners (including two children) from Aceh in five separate prisons in Central Java.  In Indonesia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Human Rights Watch also interviewed over forty representatives of various embassies and governments, United Nations officials, representatives of national and international non-governmental organizations, media representatives, and defense lawyers.  During the course of the research, Human Rights Watch also engaged in written correspondence with Indonesian government officials.

Human Rights Watch and other independent international human rights organizations are still barred from entering Aceh.  Without direct access to the province the ability to verify and confirm information is hampered.

Due to the risk of reprisal, we have changed or omitted the names of Acehnese sources and the names of the prisons visited in Central Java.

A Note on GAM Abuses

Since the renewal of fighting in May 2003, GAM forces have engaged in kidnapping, hostage taking, and the arbitrary detention of civilians in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. 

The most widely reported abduction by GAM forces involved a reporter and cameraman for the Indonesian television station, RCTI.  On June 29, 2003, two RCTI employees were among a group of civilians kidnapped by GAM in Langsa, East Aceh.  The reporter, Ersa Siregar, cameraman Fery Santoro, their driver Rahmatsyah, and two civilians who were accompanying them went missing while driving back to Lhokseumawe.  On July 3, Teungku Mansoor, GAM spokesman for East Aceh, announced that the crew was being held by GAM soldiers.  He told an AFP reporter that “the reason that we are holding them for questioning is that the Indonesian military have been using the press to conduct intelligence operations in Aceh.”⁶ 

Rahmatsyah managed to escape on December 17, 2003.  On December 29, 2003, Ersa Siregar, still in GAM captivity, was shot and killed in a firefight between GAM and TNI soldiers.  Fery Santoro was not released by GAM until May 16, 2004, almost a year after he was first taken hostage.  His release, along with an estimated 150 others, was eventually negotiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI).  The Indonesian military immediately questioned whether or not GAM was continuing to hold other civilians against their will.⁷  It is unclear whether or not GAM is still holding civilians.

Human Rights Watch is concerned about possible abuses committed by GAM, which like the Indonesian military has a long record of abusive behavior in Aceh.  But because Indonesia prohibits Human Rights Watch from entering Aceh, we were unable to interview people in, or released from, GAM custody.  Human Rights Watch is acutely aware that a lack of testimony does not necessarily mean a lack of abuses.  But until Indonesia opens Aceh to independent observers, information on possible abuses by GAM will be difficult to obtain. 

Human Rights Watch urges GAM to act in accordance with its obligations under international humanitarian law.  GAM may not, for instance, conduct attacks against civilians (including civilian officials), mistreat civilians or combatants under its control, or hold persons as hostages.  GAM also should not take actions that place civilians at risk, such as confiscating identity cards for use by GAM combatants.