<<previous | index | next>> III. BackgroundAceh is the most serious human rights crisis in Southeast Asia today. In a series of reports, Human Rights Watch has documented widespread human rights violations in Aceh since the start of military operations in the province in May 2003.9 Based on testimony from Acehnese refugees in Malaysia, there is substantial evidence that Indonesian security forces have engaged in extra-judicial executions, forced disappearances, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and drastic limits on freedom of movement in Aceh. There is also a clear pattern of singling out and persecuting young men who the military claims, often with little or no evidence, are members or supporters of GAM. Indonesian security forces have often failed to distinguish between GAM combatants and civilians. The past fifteen months of fighting have also caused massive internal displacement. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes and been forcibly relocated by the military for operational reasons. The cumulative strain of long-term conflict on the civilian population has been significant, with serious effects on the mental health of the population.10 In May 2004, Komnas HAM reported that in the first six months of martial law there had been an increase in the number of civilian victims of violence, including arbitrary arrests, torture, kidnapping, sexual abuse, and extrajudicial killings. It reported that both Indonesian security forces and GAM were responsible for serious human rights abuses in the province.11 The fighting between GAM and the TNI is increasingly taking place outside of Acehs main towns, making it even more difficult to know what is happening or who is being killed, wounded, or detained. Statistics on fatalities continue to be reported by wire services, quoting military statements from the province. In almost all accounts fatalities are recorded as GAM or rebel deaths. These accounts do not specify the circumstances of the deaths. Furthermore, the reported statistics on numbers killed in the province are inconsistent with each other, raising more concerns about the credibility of the information and the lack of comprehensive documentation of those killed in Aceh (see box below). On May 19, 2004, one year after martial law was imposed in Aceh, the military emergency was downgraded to a civil emergency. Formally, this meant a handover to a civilian administrator for the province and the shifting of law enforcement responsibilities from the military to the police. Major General Endang Surwarya, the martial law administrator, was now supposed to defer to the civilian rule of Acehs Governor, Abdullah Puteh. In practice, it appears that very little has changed. Although Governor Puteh officially took charge on June 7, 2004, the military remains firmly in control in Aceh. No significant decisions can be taken without military approval. At the handover ceremony in June, Governor Puteh himself reiterated that despite the province's change of status to a civil emergency, a number of regulations from the martial law period, including the decrees restricting access for foreigners to the province, would still apply. The Chief of Army Staff, Endriartono Sutarto, also made it clear that there was no plan for the withdrawal of the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, or TNI), but law enforcement responsibilities would be gradually handed over to the police.12 Military involvement in the fight against GAM would continue. Given the limited nature of the handover to civilian authorities and the fact that military operations continue on a large scale, there is little reason to believe that human rights and humanitarian law violations previously documented will decrease or stop now that the province is officially under a civil, rather than a military, emergency.
[8] Human Rights Watch interview with Matthew Daley, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East-Asian and Pacific Affairs, Washington D.C, February 23, 2004. [9] See Human Rights Watch, Aceh Under Martial Law: Problems Faced by Acehnese Refugees in Malaysia, A Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 16, No. 5 (C), April 2004; Human Rights Watch, Aceh Under Martial Law: Inside the Secret War, A Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 15, No. 10 (C) December 2003; Human Rights Watch, Aceh Under Martial Law: Muzzling the Messengers. Attacks and Restrictions on the Media, A Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 15, No. 9 (C), November 2003; Human Rights Watch, Aceh Under Martial Law: Can these men be trusted to prosecute this war? A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, October 2003; Human Rights Watch, Aceh Under Martial Law: Unnecessary and Dangerous Restrictions on International Humanitarian Access, A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, September 2003; Human Rights Watch, Aceh Under Martial Law: Human Rights Under Fire, A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, June 20, 2003. [10] In July 2004, the Jakarta Post reported that 750 women had so far received psychological counseling for trauma experienced during the current conflict in Aceh. 85 more Aceh women get counseling, The Jakarta Post, July 17, 2004. The Indonesian news magazine, Tempo, reported that half of Acehs 4.2 million people were suffering from some form of mental depression, reported in How prolonged conflict has affected the mental health of the people, Radio Singapore International, March 5, 2004. See also, Acehnese traumatized by conflict, The Jakarta Post, August 5, 2003. [11] Violations rampant during martial law: Rights body, The Jakarta Post, May 24, 2004. [12] Indonesia: OCHA Humanitarian Update, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Indonesia, June 30, 2004. [13] Human Rights Watch email communication with First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the United Nations, New York, July 23, 2004. [14] Human Rights Watch email communication with Suhardjono Sastromihardjo and Made Mastra, Political Section, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Washington, D.C, July 28, 2004. [15] Govt Troops Have Killed Almost 2,000 Rebels A Year Into Aceh Offensive, Agence France Presse, May 5, 2004. [16] Over 230 Aceh rebels killed in two months: Military, Agence France Presse, July 21, 2004. [17] Indonesia Army Kills 400 Alleged Aceh Rebels Since May 19, Associated Press, July 16. 2004. [18] Human Rights Watch interview with 22-year-old prisoner from Aceh, prison in Central Java, 2004.
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