[Marinir] Fw: [Nasional] Komnas HAM tries to make amends with military

[Yap Hong Gie]

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From: Holy Uncle <holyuncle@hotmail.com>
To: <apakabar@yahoogroups.com>; <national@mail2.factsoft.de>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 11:43 PM
Subject: [Nasional] Komnas HAM tries to make amends with military


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Mailing List "NASIONAL"

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***Achirnya Komnas HAM sadari peranan TNI...

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20030812.C11&irec=0

Rights body tries to make amends with military
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh

In an apparent attempt to bury the hatchet with the Indonesian Military
(TNI), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has pledged its
support to the ongoing conflict in Aceh.

Komnas HAM members Achmad Ali and Taheri Noer met with hundreds of soldiers
at the Blang Rancung military post in Syamtalira Aron regency on Sunday to
give them a primer on human rights regulations.

"Komnas HAM is not a monster to the TNI and nor is the TNI to us. You (the
soldiers) should not think human rights is a nightmare anymore. The
emergency law stipulated here gives many exceptions to laws which protect
basic rights.

"You are doing a noble job here, where your life is at stake. Human rights
violations are natural under such conditions, but the issue is whether there
can be legal sanctions given to the perpetrators," Achmad Ali told the
soldiers.

Soldiers convicted for crimes such as rape should not question their
commanders' policy to bring them to trial, said Achmad Ali, apparently
unaware that the 411th Infantry Battalion, which had three members convicted
of rape, were in attendance.

Military Operation Commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Dharmono also was in
attendance, as well as soldiers of the Aceh marines, and the Army's 143rd
Infantry Battalion, the 3rd Marine Battalion and the Mobile Taskforce 3rd
Battalion.

One of the marines told The Jakarta Post that although their commander had
always given them guidelines on human rights issues, it was the first time
they had ever heard it from a "key source".

The soldiers asked many questions about whether what they had done was a
violation of people's basic rights and whether their own basic rights were
protected by the commission.

"The plenary meeting of Komnas HAM, which is the only decision-making
institution, has never called for an end to the military operation in Aceh.
Just do your job. If you don't shoot or bomb, you are not soldiers, just a
joke," said Achmad Ali.

The grudge between the TNI and Komnas HAM started when the latter conducted
investigations into possible rights violations by the military and police in
East Timor in 1999, the bloodshed in Tanjung Priok, East Jakarta, in 1984,
and the shootings of students in 1998 and 1999 in Jakarta.

The latest quarrel occurred when Komnas HAM's monitoring team for war in
Aceh, led by M.M. Billah, said it had evidence of mass graves and other
rights abuse cases. There was yet a further investigation into the
accusation.

In a press conference, Achmad Ali admitted that the team's three-day visit
to the province was part of efforts to show them that "the commission is not
an enemy of the TNI" and reduce possible rights violations during the
military operation.

When asked whether the fence-mending campaign was too late to have an
affect, Achmad Ali said it was a follow-up because they had started it at
the marine post in Surabaya long before the troops were sent to Aceh.

Bambang Dharmono, who welcomed the team, told reporters that the cooperation
with Komnas HAM to give lectures on human rights was evidence of the
military's concern of such issues.

"We scheduled the team to meet the soldiers on duty in North Aceh and Pidie
regencies, because there are the concentration points of troops," he said.