DATE=8/19/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=ATROCITIES IN ACEH
NUMBER=5-44091
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Under other conditions, Aceh on the northern
tip of Indonesia could be close to a paradise on earth
with its gleaming beaches, breathtaking vistas, and
hospitable people. Instead, the province is the scene
of some of the ugliest atrocities in Indonesia,
largely -- though not exclusively -- committed by an
army that often seems out of control. Correspondent
Ed Warner reports the growing conflict and the damage
it has caused.
TEXT: Thousands of Indonesian troops have poured into
the province of Aceh to put down a separatist revolt.
Civilians have been caught in the middle. Close to
200 have been killed, and more than 100-thousand have
fled their often burning villages to seek refuge in
mosques and schools.
For the Acehnese, the attack is only the latest in
more than a decade of atrocities they have suffered at
the hands of the central government in Jakarta. They
demand an accounting of human-rights violations in
their province and an end to them.
Professor of Government Benedict Anderson is Director
of the Indonesia Project at Cornell University. He
says the Indonesian government is divided on how to
handle Aceh. Muslim groups around President B-J
Habibie urge conciliation, while the military wants to
continue to fight.
But even Indonesia's armed forces chief, General
Wiranto, admits to excessive use of force in Aceh:
// ANDERSON ACT //
It is remarkable that the commander in chief of
the military has actually formally apologized to
the people of Aceh for the mass murders and
atrocities and tortures. He has not done that
for any other area. That is sufficient
indication that the leadership of the army, I
think, recognizes perfectly what a disastrous
situation it has created there.
// END ACT //
Professor Anderson says Jakarta does not want to lose
a strategically important part of Indonesia that also
has abundant natural gas. Beyond that, Indonesian
soldiers are doing a brisk business in marijuana
widely grown in Aceh.
He does not believe the problem will be solved until
the budget for the army is increased, and its troops
are better paid. With their low wages they are
encouraged to seek other sources of income.
While there is a serious movement for independence in
Aceh, many say it is in reaction to the repressive
government. If the military is withdrawn and local
government is permitted, separatist sentiment is
likely to fade.
But as the troops arrive, resistance intensifies, and
Acehnese are caught in the crossfire. Asna Husin is
an Acehnese who works for The World Conference on
Religion and Peace in New York City. She keeps in
touch with friends in Aceh who tell her they fear not
only the military, but other marauding bands:
// HUSEIN ACT //
Unidentified people with guns going from one
village to the next terrorizing people, but
neither the army nor the rebels acknowledge that
these people are part of their group. This is
very scary because we do not really know who
they are. The rebels would say they are not
part of us, and the army says they are not part
of us.
// END ACT //
Professor Anderson says they may well be drug
traffickers taking advantage of the chaos.
He thinks settling the crises in Aceh and other
rebellious parts of Indonesia will require a change of
attitude on the part of the central government, a
point he made in a speech in Jakarta last spring:
// ANDERSON ACT //
I said, quite frankly, to the people there that
the trouble with Jakarta's attitude is that they
want Aceh, but they do not want Acehnese in it.
They want Irian Java, but they do not want the
Irianese. They want Timor, but they do not want
the Timorese. The attitude is there are these
resources there, and we want those resources for
ourselves, and we want to keep these state
boundaries that we inherited from the colonial
period.
// END ACT //
Professor Anderson says the capital has a contempt for
people outside it as somehow beneath them. He insists
that must change if Indonesia is going to hold
together. (SIGNED)
NEB/EW/RAE
19-Aug-1999 11:26 AM EDT (19-Aug-1999 1526 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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