GAM fighters standing beside their flag

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL  Southeast Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, December 18 (IslamOnline.net) - Violations of human rights were rampant ever since martial law was enforced on May 19 of this year in the province of Aceh and abuse against civilians tops the offenses, said a human rights watchdog released Thursday, December 18.

"Every Acehnese we interviewed had a story of abuse to tell, and we fear that those abuses may just be the tip of an iceberg," said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia division.

Title "Aceh Under Martial Law: Inside The Secret War", the reports documents extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detentions as well as drastic limits on freedom of movement in Aceh.

Witnesses told HRW about village sweeps in which civilians were killed, some while being questioned or detained, others while fleeing in fear of mistreatment.

Victims and witnesses recounted in shocking detail how Indonesian forces appear to be targeting young men in Aceh.

"I saw one of the soldiers handcuff the ankles of this man, and then another soldier held him by his feet and swung him against a tree," one young Acehnese man recounted.

"The soldier did this many times so that the man’s head was hitting the tree. His brains were coming out of his head, until he was dead." 

The HRW pressed the Indonesian government to do what it takes to bring the perpetrators of rights violations to justice.

Abuses intensified after December 4, the anniversary of the unilateral independence declared by Aceh in 1971, Acehnese living in Malaysia told IslamOnline.net.

On that particular day, there were still many in Banda Aceh who would raise the star and moon flag of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), though not as many as before.

This was also the reason for harsh treatment by the Indonesian military against those found guilty of raising the GAM independence flag.

In a 50-page report based on interviews with 100 Acehnese people who sought refuge in Malaysia, the human rights watchdog said violations of human rights had been rampant ever since martial law was enforced on May 19.

"The Indonesian Military should seriously follow international humanitarian laws in its conduct of war if Indonesia wants to retain its credibility with the international community," Adams said.

While welcoming the government's decision this month to allow access to Aceh by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the U.N. humanitarian agencies, the watchdog called on Indonesia to go further by opening Aceh to independent monitoring.

Adams said more international organizations, the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and local human rights organizations should be allowed to carry out fact-finding investigations based on their report.

The human rights organization urged the international community, in particular the U.S., the E.U., Japan and the World Bank, to register more forcefully concern about the secret war in Aceh.

It also called on countries providing military assistance or training to Indonesia to consider a moratorium on all arms transfers to Indonesia.

Last week the Ad Hoc Team of the National Commission on Human Rights in Aceh, confirmed that human rights violations in Aceh have been on the upswing.

Ad Hoc team Chairman M. M. Billah made this comment during a training session of Monitoring Human Rights Violations at Malikussaleh University, Lhokseumawe, on Wednesday, December 10.

"Most of the Acehnese, including women and children, cannot fully enjoy their rights," he was quoted by Antara news agency as having said.

According to the team, the war in Aceh has become more open since the Presidential Decision 28/2003 about the Military State of Emergency in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam was issued.

By issuing the decision, the government extended the emergency status.

"It was issued without making an evaluation whereas [during the implementation of the emergency status] human rights violations were increasing in Aceh," said Billah, accompanied by Mansour Faqih, Chairman of Sub-commission of Education and Counseling of the Human Rights Commission.

The Ad Hoc team, as well as a host of Non-Government Organizations (NGO),  Japan and the E.U. asked the government to revoke the emergency status and carry out rehabilitation programs for victims of the conflict.

The current Indonesian military offensive in Aceh began on May 19 after a six-month ceasefire failed to resolve the longstanding conflict in the province.

It involves an estimated 30,000 troops, who are opposed by an estimated 5,000 armed members of GAM.