•  Jakarta rejects UN probe into violence
•  Militias vow to rise from the ashes
•  Thousands of refugees return as tensions ease
•  The shocking truth that must be told
•  Gusmao attacks foreign aid agencies
•  Militas set out to split families
•  East Timor situation devastating

•  Wahid draws parliament's ire
•  Jury still out over Wahid's leanings
•  Calls mount for NU to brack from PKB

•  TNI in row over Aceh martial law
•  Back on agenda, 30 years later
•  Migrants flee in wake of intimidation
•  Irian Jayans rally for independence
•  Indonesian students demand justice
•  Agony for Jakarta: tactics on Aceh
•  Odds on keeping province at 50-50
•  Facts about Aceh
•  A million march for referendum

•  Federal Gov. obstructing ICJ
•  Belo says rights probe too late
•  Rape, killing not rights abuses: TNI
•  UN group backs Timor rights enqiry
•  MPR agrees to release political prisoners
•  Murder probe points to military

• HIV spread uncontrolled: Official

Students observe Semanggi tragedy

Jakarta -- At least 1,000 students from various universities gathered at the Atma Jaya University campus on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on Saturday, commemorating the November 13 shooting incident at the nearby Semanggi cloverleaf, which killed 14 people including eight university students.

Saturday's commemoration was part of a three-day program, organized by the Presidium of the Atma Jaya University students in cooperation with Visi Mahasiswa tabloid, which started on Thursday. Other programs included a photo exhibition of last year's violence and a seminar on politics.

Students, in groups, poured onto the university compound located at the tip of the city's main thoroughfare Jl. Sudirman from midday on Saturday and traveled either by bus or by marching from their own campuses. They carried their student groupings' flags, but no posters and placards were seen.

The committee established a makeshift stage in the university compound, where students from various groupings sang songs and read poems, mostly criticizing the military's violence during last year's incident. Saturday's commemoration started at 4 p.m, immediately after heavy rainfalls which had showered the city for three hours stopped.

Harry Rusli, a noted musician, contributed to the commemoration by reading a poem urging the government and military police to soon announce the results of the investigation into the incident and to bring the responsible parties to court.

"Where is the justice after one year has passed since the shooting incident!" he shouted, winning applause from the students.

The shooting occurred when thousands of students staged rallies in front of Atma Jaya University protesting against the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly from November 10 to 13, 1998. They clashed with security personnel blocking their way to the legislative compound in Senayan, about 300 meters west of the cloverleaf.

The students demanded the government and the military police reveal the truth behind the incident and sentence the parties responsible for the killing of the protesters.

"The real human tragedy occurred today, as no satisfying results of the investigation have been revealed so far," said a statement, read by Hengky, an activist of Famred.

The students also demanded the government disclose the investigation results on human atrocities in Aceh and other provinces.
 

East Timor

Jakarta rejects UN probe into violence

Jakarta -- The Indonesian government on Thursday rejected a UN commission to arrive here soon to probe post-ballot human rights violations in East Timor but pledged to bring justice to anyone found responsible for the violence.

"While it [Indonesia] is not legally bound by the decision adopted by the council, [it] remains committed to extending all cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms," the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The UN's economic and social council (ECOSOC) on Monday gave the go-ahead to a five-member commission of inquiry set up by the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights, which voted to set up the probe in September, to travel to East Timor at the end of week

"The decision by the ECOSOC was not reached by consensus," the ministry statement said, pointing out 10 countries voted against and 11 others had abstained.

"Indonesia nevertheless will continue to undertake every effort to determine the facts surrounding the violence in East Timor. And when and where culpability is determined, Indonesia will bring to justice those responsible for acts of violence."

Jakarta has already rejected the Commission on Human Rights's decision to set up the probe and said it was not legally bound by the decision.

"Indonesia will hold accountable its nationals and those within its jurisdiction found to have perpetrated human rights abuses during the post ballot period in East Timor," the statement said.

Indonesia is opposed to an international inquiry, arguing it would conduct its own investigation. Jakarta has said the investigation will be conducted by a fact-finding team set up by the country's own National Commission on Human Rights. The task of the UN commission of inquiry is to substantiate claims of atrocities made by refugees to special UN raporteurs.

Led by Costa Rican jurist Sonia Picado, the team is expected to submit its recommendation to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan by December 31 on whether the United Nations should set up an international war crimes tribunal.

They will then report to the UN General Assembly which has the authority to establish an international war crimes tribunal.

Militias vow to rise from the ashes

Basilio Araujo is subdued. Over breakfast in a modest hotel in south Jakarta, the former spokesman of the East Timorese pro- integration forces is less than his usual talkative self as he contemplates the future for the defeated militias.

It is a long way from how things used to be. The former East Timorese civil servant, who studied psychology at Manchester Polytechnic on a British Council scholarship, has lost his authority.

Attempting to explain away the violence, murder and destruction visited on East Timor by the militias, the one-time spin-doctor and intellectual face of the integration movement is sounding worn and tired.

The arguments are still there, but the privileges are gone. With Indonesia formally washing its hands of East Timor, the business-class tickets and five-star accommodation once provided by patrons in the Indonesian administration have disappeared.

Now the future is uncertain for East Timorese militia and integration leaders who have renamed themselves The Forum for National Unity.

Although many have been named as war criminals by international human rights organisations, they say they are determined to continue the struggle for integration with Indonesia in the newly-independent country.

"If [resistance movement] Fretilin can resist in the jungle for 23 years and they are Timorese, we are also Timorese and we also know our jungle and we know what our nature can provide us to eat, so we can also resist in the jungle," says Mr Araujo.

"For a person who might be listed as a war criminal, of course, they will choose to die in the battle rather than be humiliated."

These East Timorese will tell you their culture is based on violence. During the 400 years of Portuguese colonisation, the Portuguese backed local leaders in regular wars between clans and tribes.

"We are born heroes and we die warriors," says Mr Araujo, quoting an East Timorese saying which he uses to explain the outbreaks of militia violence before and after the referendum.

The militias trace their history to the beginning of Indonesian rule. When Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, a number of East Timorese supported the Indonesian army working as guides, porters and intelligence gatherers.

"Militia commanders say the militias already existed before 1998," said East Timorese human rights campaigner Aniceto Guterres in Dili in August. "The first time the militias were formed was to help the Indonesian military who didn't know what the ground was like in intelligence operations in the jungle."

These East Timorese were generously rewarded for their help, often with positions of power and influence.

But it was only after the United Nations-sponsored referendum was announced in January that distinct militia groups began to grow in force and take shape as an anti-independence movement, backed by elements within the Indonesian army which provided arms and training.

The link between militias and the Indonesian military has been well-documented. Indonesia's former foreign minister, Ali Alatas, admitted recently that the military was culpable in the violence that followed the vote for independence. Elite special forces (Kopassus) are known to have had a long involvement in the territory.

As early as November last year, according to reports by an Australian East Timorese support group, Kopassus agents were working undercover at a pro-independence rally near the East Timorese town of Alas.

The crowd at the rally discovered and killed two of them, leading to brutal reprisals by the army and the disappearance of several East Timorese youths.

"The military was making preparations ever since the incident in Alas," said Mr Gutteres. "At that time it created new militias such as the Mahidi [Live or Die for Integration] and Besi Merah Puti [Red and White Iron]. They were supplied with weapons by the military and they were also allowed to create new hand-made weapons."

Since their departure to West Timor following the arrival of international peacekeepers (Interfet), the strength and commitment of the defeated militia forces has been difficult to gauge.

Mr Araujo says there are 47,000 militiamen in West Timor and 5,000 still in East Timor waiting "to kill or be killed". Interfet has detained and disarmed an undisclosed number in East Timor, though it has no authority to charge them, and at least five have been killed in border skirmishes.

With training sessions on view to Indonesian television cameras in West Timor, militias say they are grouping in preparation for a possible attack on Interfet. Militia leader Joao Tavares boasts he has a force of 50,000 ready to strike across the border.

But according to East Timorese journalist Mehta Guterres, the number of hard-core devoted militiamen is much smaller. "The real hardliners are only about 5,000," he says. "They are the ones who have supported Indonesia forever, since the partisan days. They are old hands. There is no support among the young people. The rest are trying to save themselves as they will be killed if they don't remain in the militias."

In the past few weeks, a fresh battalion of troops from Sulawesi has been sent to the West Timorese border to disarm the militias.

However, in a visit last week to the West Timorese capital, Kupang, American ambassador Robert Gelbard said it was obvious some elements of the army were still supporting armed activity. Indonesian human rights group Kontras has reported that militias are openly operating under the watch of Indonesian police in refugee camps in Kupang and border town Atambua.

But this local level of support may not be enough to sustain the guerilla movement threatened by militia leaders in Jakarta. The Indonesian chain of command previously directing militia activity no longer exists.

Army and police commanders who operated in East Timor have moved on, in many cases rewarded for their work. Former regional commander General Adam Damiri has been promoted to assistant to the army chief on operational affairs. Former Dili chief of police, Colonel Timbul Silaen, is now brigadier-general of the police headquarters' anti-corruption force.

Over the next few weeks, the Forum for National Unity will decide whether to continue armed-resistance or work through political channels for a voice in the independent East Timor. Under the threat of a possible war crimes tribunal and lacking popular support in Indonesia, there is a feeling among the pro- integration forces that they have been abandoned.

"I think Indonesia owes us an apology because like Portugal, they have washed their hands as well," says Mr Araujo. "I think that was what they wanted to do because I think Indonesia does not want to be accused any more. Now everything is finished. Now they are gone, leaving the East Timorese alone."

The East Timorese who were drawn into militia organisations can be grouped into three distinct categories.

Of these the most prominent were those East Timorese who were already members of civilian security forces, operating alongside the Indonesian military and police to provide intelligence on independence activists and the Falintil guerilla army.

Among them were militia leaders like Eurico Guterres, formerly a small-time gambling boss in Dili who headed the group Aitarak (Thorn).

Although Mr Guterres claimed he was a people's leader who took orders from no one, he told journalists early this year that he answered directly to General Damiri.

For a small-time player, he had influential friends. Photographs found in his headquarters after international troops arrived in Dili show him with former president Suharto.

Then there were those recruited under pressure as the militias established themselves. Many were threatened with death or the burning of their houses if they did not join. In the period before the referendum, it was not unusual to find men who wore the uniform of the militias and attended mass rallies, but privately expressed their wish to vote for independence.

The third group was made up of thieves and thugs who saw opportunity in joining with the dominant military force. These people were amply rewarded in the three-week looting and burning spree that followed the result.

For months before the referendum, militia groups terrorised the population, threatening and killing pro-independence supporters. After the overwhelmingly pro-independence result was announced, militias took over the territory, backed and supported by the army.

It is not known how many died in the violence. Numbers have been estimated in the hundreds, rather than the thousands first feared. But every village, town and city in East Timor has a tale of horror to tell and more than a third of the population was forced across the border to be held in refugee camps in West Timor and around Indonesia.

Thousands of refugees return as tensions ease

Dili -- Thousands of East Timorese refugees poured across the border to their homes Monday after talks among UN agencies, the Indonesian military and pro-Indonesian militia, the United Nations said here.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement that more than 8,000 East Timorese refugees had been able to return over the past three days, and more than 3,000 on Monday.

"Successful discussions have led to the reopening early this morning of the border between the Ambeno [Oekussi] enclave and West Timor," the International Force in East Timor (Interfet) said in a separate statement issued here.

"The first refugees started crossing the border again at 10.30am today. By noon more than 1,300 refugees had made their way across at [border points] Babometo and Wini."

The enclave border had been blocked by the militias since Friday, apparently in a dispute over the detention of a relative of a militia leader by Interfet troops.

The UNHCR statement, issued in Geneva, said the returns brought to more than 64,000 the number of returnees since early October when the repatriation program began. Some 2,000 of those had walked over the border by foot to the town of Suai on Monday, a UNHCR spokesman told AFP by phone.

Almost a quarter of a million East Timorese fled or were pushed into Indonesian-ruled West Timor when military-backed pro-Jakarta militia went on a murderous rampage to avenge the August 30 independence vote there,

But the UNHCR statement cautioned that the problems facing refugees in West Timor were not over, saying that the militias were continuing to "frustrate" efforts to repatriate some 7,000 people from the Noelbaki camp outside the city of Kupang.

Only 16 people had been able to leave Noelbaki, the statement said, adding that there were reports of the milita "tracking down" 80 refugees who had put their names down to return to East Timor.

On Sunday an AFP reporter in Oekussi was told that militia kidnapped two returning refugees when they tried to cross back into the enclave, which is surrounded on all sides by Indonesian-ruled West Timor. The UNHCR statement said the two had been released after being detained for 24 hours.

Earlier Monday Interfet spokesman Colonel Mark Kelly had said the local militia commander in the Babometo area, whom he identified only by one name, Moko, had "taken it upon himself to close the border."

Kelly said there had been good cooperation until Friday with the Indonesian military in the area, but that over the weekend the militia appeared to have "influenced" the military.

The shocking truth that must be told

James Dunn -- As horrifying details emerged about the TNI-backed militia rampage which followed the East Timor independence referendum demands have grown from within and outside the United Nations for an international investigation.

Progress, however, has been disappointingly slow. The establishment of a tribunal is taking longer than expected because not all members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) are enthusiastic for international intervention.

Some western governments also seem to be weakening in their support because they fear a tribunal would either fail to attract the necessary co-operation from Indonesian authorities, or that its outcome could destabilise Indonesia's new Wahid Government, whose reformist agenda carries many hopes in the West.

Even some of the Australian media have expressed doubts, with one Canberra columnist making the absurd suggestion that our media should apologise to Indonesia for its exaggerated and sensational reporting on human rights abuses in Timor.

These responses are part of a pattern of international behaviour since human rights became a focal point for international action. In the early stages of a conflict, human rights abuses, and the need to investigate or remedy them, have invariably been the focus of attention in UN or UN-backed interventions.

Then the pragmatists usually take over, and calls for reconciliation tend to displace calls for the guilty to be indicted and brought to justice.

The most prominent of the initial demands for action in East Timor came from Mary Robinson, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, and was supported by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, himself.

At a special session of the UNCHR, convened in Geneva on September 29, Mrs Robinson's proposal became the subject of a resolution subsequently referred to ECOSOC for formal endorsement.

The need for an international investigation is not in dispute. Even President Wahid, on the eve of his election, acknowledged its importance. The big question is the scope of its inquiries, what form it will take and the extent of Indonesian support.

First there are the killings. In general terms we need to find out the number and identity of victims, how they were killed, who were the killers and, most importantly, who planned the operation and gave the orders.

Second, there are the mass deportations to West Timor. Third, there is systematic destruction of Timor's towns and villages. Who did the planning and gave the orders?

Although support for the work of an international tribunal was formally excluded from the UN Transition Authority for East Timor's terms of reference, this should not impede the investigation.

More critical to the outcome of the investigation is the kind of support it receives from Indonesian authorities, particularly from the TNI [Indonesian armed forces] commanders. Investigators need to interview militia commanders and the TNI generals implicated in their operations.

In practice, the most important inquiry is the one President Wahid should himself be ordering. A central concern of the democracy movement is to end the armed forces' notorious role which accorded Indonesian generals great political influence, and has enabled them to cover up the brutal behaviour of the TNI.

That kind of investigation could not be carried out by a UN tribunal, which will have no authority to probe into the past.

There are prominent Indonesians keen to launch such an investigation, and to carry it out fearlessly. A limited investigation was launched in October by KOMNAS [National Commission on Human Rights] and its findings concerning the refugees in West Timor were refreshingly frank.

But the investigations need to range much wider than particular incidents, if the Indonesian people are to confront the ugliness of the brutal past of a military, some of whose generals are still in a position to wield the excessive power they enjoyed under Soeharto.

The shocking excesses of the post-plebiscite militia operation is only the tip of an iceberg of human rights abuses, the full exposure of which is essential to fundamental and lasting democratic reform.

[James Dunn is a former Australian consul in Portuguese East Timor. He is the author of Timor: A People Betrayed.]

Gusmao attacks foreign aid agencies

Joanne Collins, Manatutu -- East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao has launched another attack on the international effort to rebuild the ravaged territory, saying aid organisations were not co-operating with Timorese officials.

Speaking at his hometown of Manatutu, 50 km west of Dili, Gusmao told reporters late on Sunday that non-governmental organisations were failing to consult with the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), the political arm of East Timor's pro- independence movement.

"We are not informed of their meetings, which are run in a clandestine way," Gusmao said. "It is now clear there must be cooperation with the CNRT."

Gusmao spoke after a 90-minute closed meeting with about 20 NGO representatives. He said his greatest concern was food distribution. "There are cases where people ended up selling rice because they received more than they need while others got nothing," he said

Sandra Vieira, the mission head for Portugal's International Medical Assistance (IMA), said Gusmao's remarks were "disappointing" and underestimated NGO efforts to try to work in harmony with the East Timorese.

"I was a bit shocked by Xanana's comments, especially when we've been asking for an East Timorese [to be] present at all our meeting, but they just didn't come," Vieira said.

Another aid worker, who asked not to be named, said NGOs were not able to work with the CNRT because it was a political body "The CNRT wants to work with the NGOs, but the NGOs can't affiliate themselves with a political organisation," he said.

Gusmao also criticised some NGOs for limiting the use of local staff to ancillary jobs. He did not name specific NGOs or say how he wanted them to co-operate with the CNRT.

Early last week, Gusmao criticised the World Bank and the United Nations for pushing their own agenda and not listening to the people.

Gusmao's visit to Manatutu was greeted by more than 2,000 East Timorese. In an emotion charged address, Gusmao said the struggle for independence had ended. "Manatutu will not suffer again, Manatutu will not cry again," he said in the local dialect.

Militia set out to split families

Sian Powell, Dili -- The pro-Jakarta militia in East Timor conducted a concerted two-stage campaign to split up families, warning men they would be killed if they did not flee, then forcibly transporting the remaining women and children to West Timor.

Sidney Jones, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, who has interviewed hundreds of returned refugees in East Timor, said it was a comprehensive pattern of dislocation, which continued in the camps in West Timor.

"Women were told their husbands had been killed and there was no point in going back, their villages had been destroyed, that Interfet soldiers would rape them," she said.

The villagers were usually transported to the district military command before being forced over the border and Ms Jones has documented three cases of rape in these commands in Suai, in the south of the territory.

"There is no question TNI (the Indonesian army) was involved, and active-duty officers were actually in the militia, particularly in the western regions," she said.

These soldiers were also East Timorese and many other East Timorese, of the Tentara Tiga Bulan -- literally the three-month army, a reservist force -- were also involved.

Apart from the already documented massacres, such as the killings in the church in Suai, where an estimated 200 people were shot dead, and the deaths by stabbing of 47 people in the police station in the border town of Maliana, Ms Jones said her understanding was that most killings were more targeted.

"My guess is that [the deaths] will add up to several hundreds," she said. "The determination was to push everybody out across the border." There were two reasons for this, she said.

First, the militia and the TNI wanted to convince the world that the UNAMET ballot was rigged and that East Timorese were so averse to independence they had fled in their thousands. Secondly, they wanted to clear the territory of independence activists and sympathisers to aid the return of the militia.

From her interviews, Ms Jones learned that members of Kopassus, the Indonesian special forces, arrived in Dili in the week before the ballot and fanned out across East Timor.

Of equal concern, Ms Jones said, was evidence that militia members were often very young. She had been told of one boy of 10 who was a militia member and others of 14, 15 and 16. Contrary to common perception, they were nearly always East Timorese and known to their victims, sometimes even related to them.

Ms Jones said there was still a great deal of investigative work to be done before the whole truth about the devastation of East Timor emerged. "There is still a lot we don't know," she said, "there's still a lot that has to be followed up."

East Timor situation devastating

Dili -- UN-appointed rapporteurs investigating human rights abuses in East Timor Monday described the situation as devastating and are likely to recommend an international tribunal.

"We have had testimonies from eyewitnesses of people being killed in front of them and we have seen the sites where people have been buried," said Asma Jahangir, special rapporteur responsible for investigating summary executions.

"What we see is devastating," she said, adding fresh evidence was being uncovered daily as more refugees return to East Timor to provide testimony.

"Two to three dead bodies are being identified per day," she said, adding there was a long term need for a permanent commission.

To date, the International Force for East Timor (Interfet) and civilian forensic experts have recovered at least 108 remains of victims who were violently killed in East Timor, which is widely considered the tip of the iceberg.

Mass graves are still being uncovered and returning refugees are recounting stories of torture and death from every area of the territory.

Nigel Rodley, the special rapporteur responsible for investigating cases of tortures, said: "One has to be here to see for oneself the destruction in order to grasp the horror of what happened."

Rodley said one of the tragedies in the course of his inquiry here was there were so few torture victims who survived their ordeal. "The ones we have met were not supposed to survive," he told a media briefing.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, investigating violence against women, said rape and sexual slavery as well as other human rights violations occured long before the violence by pro-Jakarta militia unleashed by the August 30 independence referendum. "The pattern appeared to have existed before, but it has accelerated," she said.

The rapporteurs will spend about one week listening to testimonies and will make their findings available to a special UN commission of inquiry led by

Costa Rican jurist Sonia Picardo due to arrive in Dili later this month. The commission on crimes against humanity and war crimes will then report to the UN General Assembly which has the authority to establish an international war crimes tribunal.

It will investigate allegations by refugees and claims that the Indonesian army organized the militias which waged a campaign of violence and mass destruction following the August 30 independence vote.

However there is widespread concern that forensic evidence is deteriorating and the effectiveness of the commission is jeopardized by the delay of the inquiry's arrival.

"We are not here to preserve physical evidence, that is the question of getting forensic people on the ground and I am not in position to anser the question of why it took so long for them to get here," Rodley said.

Coomaraswamy said the international community always responded slowly to human rights abuses "until things get to epic proportion. I feel this time around, the international community is more ready to act."

The rapporteurs have been frustrated by Jakarta's refusal to give them access to West Timor, where more than 200,000 East Timorese are staying in refugee camps.

"We are hearing cases of sexual slavery in West Timor" based on testimony from refugees returning from the camps, Coomaraswamy said. However, she was unable to determine the extent of sexual violence against women, in East Timor or in West Timor, saying only "it seems to be widespread."

It was too soon to determine what role the Indonesian military played in the wave of violence that engulfed East Timor until the arrival of international troops on September 20, the team said.

"We are hearing all sorts of allegations, that the militia were the military in certain areas, that the militia worked with the military, that the military funded the militia," Rodley said.

But he said regardless of who perpetrated the crimes "impunity has been and continues to be a problem, and we are bound to make a recommendation aiming at the problem of impunity."

The rapporteurs will conclude their visit later this week and may submit their report to the United Nations by November 25.
 

Government/politics

Wahid draws parliament's ire

Richard Borsuk and Puspa Madani, Jakarta -- Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid came under strong criticism in an historic parliamentary session Thursday, but he signaled that he has no plans to change his controversial policies on Aceh and other issues -- and no intention of cutting back on his provocative statements.

Mr. Wahid, who become president four weeks ago, accepted an unprecedented summons by the 500-seat Parliament to explain his endorsement of a referendum in resource-rich Aceh, where there is strong support for breaking away from Indonesia, and his decision to abolish two government ministries.

His appearance illustrated a stark difference in personal and governing styles with former President Suharto. While the session might boost confidence that Indonesia is becoming increasingly democratic, political analysts say the president's handling of it may increase growing concerns that his informal, off-handed style of speaking could make it harder for him to lead the government and his coalition cabinet.

Open floor

During his 32-year rule, Mr. Suharto addressed Parliament only to present the annual budget and national day speeches, occasions on which representatives never spoke. But on Thursday, after the nearly blind Mr. Wahid spoke for 15 minutes defending his policies, the floor was opened for more than an hour for comments. When the president was later given a chance to reply, he was occasionally interrupted by representatives.

Mr. Wahid angered some members by likening Parliament to a "kindergarten." One member recognized to speak by Parliament's speaker after yelling "interrupsi" said it was a "very serious matter" for the president to describe the assembly this way.

While leaving the building after the session, Mr. Wahid said, "As we are in the process of learning about democracy, that's what we have." He added that some of his words have been "misunderstood by the parliament members. Why should they be bothered about it? They shouldn't get angry."

The president also caused a stir during the session when he said he wants his cabinet ministers to function differently from their predecessors. He made a reference to Malaysia, saying that finding ministers there "is very difficult because they are playing golf." Benyamin Nalu, one of 38 members appointed to Parliament to represent Indonesia's military, asked the president to withdraw this remark, saying, "Although the president said this is in a relaxed manner, or was joking, it can hurt another nation's feelings." Mr. Wahid thanked the military for its feedback.

Differences of opinion

On Aceh, where the military strongly opposes a referendum that would give Aceh a choice of independence, the president reiterated his view that a referendum should be held, but didn't comment on how it should be worded. Mr. Wahid told Parliament that he welcomed its debate on the future of Aceh. "Differences in opinion will make Indonesia great in the future," he said.

In Japan earlier this week -- giving remarks that helped spark his summons to Parliament -- Mr. Wahid said he thought a referendum could be held in Aceh within seven months. Aceh's governor, Syamsuddin Mahmud, said Wednesday after meeting Mr. Wahid that the president ruled out independence and wanted Acehnese to have a choice of the status quo or more autonomy, which activists in Aceh have rejected.

Much of the criticism of the president was over his announced closure of the ministries of information and social affairs, which together employ about 85,000 people nationwide. Hundreds of the affected government workers were in the gallery of Parliament and cheered loudly for members who called on Mr. Wahid to change his mind. But he stood by his decision, contending that the functions of the two ministries could be carried out by "society" rather than government.

Israel issue

Mr. Wahid was also criticized for his announcement within days of becoming president that trade relations would be established with Israel, which Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim nation -- doesn't recognize. Aisyah Amini of the Muslim-based United Development Party said the president "must consult with Parliament" before making "major decisions" such as this one. Mr. Wahid defended his decision, adding that "we have to see the realities" in international relations and commerce.

Many members of Parliament welcomed Mr. Wahid's informal approach to dealing with Parliament, traditionally just a rubber-stamp under Mr. Suharto. But others expressed regret and concern about his off-the-cuff comments. Afni Achmad, from the Reform Party, said that in the future the president "must reduce the habit of saying whatever he wants to say. He is a president now, not a chairman of an organization anymore." Mr. Wahid was formerly chairman of Nahdatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim body.

Slamet Effendi Jusuf of Golkar, the party of former presidents Suharto and B.J. Habibie, said that while Mr. Wahid and the members are in a "learning process" about democracy, "we have to avoid Parliament becoming merely an entertainment stage. It must become a stage able to make the Indonesian people mature in the political life."

Jury still out over Wahid's leanings

Greg Torode, Washington -- President Abdurrahman Wahid may have sought to cosy back up to the United States during his mission over the past three days, but Washington will be "sleeping with one eye open" in the months ahead, officials said. The Indonesian President, on his way home from the US, arrived in Tokyo yesterday for a two-day visit for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and other top officials.

Mr Wahid and his new Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab sought to boost relations with the US in a meeting with President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. But they spelt out in "no uncertain terms" Jakarta's fresh desire for Eastern rather than Western ties.

Mr Wahid elaborated on his ideas for a new Asian axis between Indonesia, India and China -- with Japanese and Singaporean assistance -- after years of a perceived over-dominance by the West.

Speaking privately, some Clinton administration officials warned that Mr Wahid's new ideas would be watched extremely closely in the coming months, especially if they appeared to have considerable popular support inside Indonesia.

"We would not want to see anything developing that could be seen as destabilising after such a very delicate period ... but if it restores a balance and order to the region, there are no problems with it from this end," one administration source said yesterday. "This is something very new ... at this stage we must keep a wary eye on developments."

Officially, State Department spokesmen were taking a more upbeat line, saying Mr Wahid had outlined a firm desire not only for closer ties with his Asian counterparts, but also new links to Israel and the rest of the Middle East and the West.

"We welcome his foreign policy ... we don't think it should conflict in any way with our mutual desires for a close and constructive bilateral relationship," a spokesman said.

More generally, President Clinton outlined Washington's priorities as a desire to see a stable and prosperous Indonesia based on the "consolidation and re-affirmation" of democracy as well as economic recovery.

He also pinned any restoration of military co-operation -- already reduced then finally severed during the East Timor crisis -- on the safe return of refugees from West Timor as well as "credible steps" towards military reform and accountability for abuses.

The nearly blind Mr Wahid had been receiving treatment from eye specialists in Salt Lake City, Utah, over the weekend.

Calls mount for NU to break from PKB

Jakarta -- A fresh demand was aired on Saturday for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to cut its traditional affiliation with the National Awakening Party (PKB) when the country's largest Muslim organization holds its congress later this month.

PKB executive Yahya Cholil, who represents the party at the General Elections Commission, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that NU's complete break with political practices would help it focus on its original role as a moral force.

"NU should let go of PKB, the party it established, if it wishes to work optimally. Keeping a distance from politics will benefit a mass organization like NU a lot more than the converse option," Cholil said.

PKB was founded by Abdurrahman Wahid, who chairs NU, following the fall of the New Order regime last year. Abdurrahman, also known as Gus Dur, introduced PKB as the only party for NU followers to channel their political aspirations.

NU renewed its pledge to stay away from politics when Abdurrahman took the helm of the organization in 1984. When it was born in 1926, NU declared itself a politics-free organization.

The call for strict adherence to NU's statute is mounting largely because of Abdurrahman's election as President and the fact that the Muslim organization played a major role in political processes during the reform era.

But the chairman of PKB's Central Java chapter, Noer Iskandar Al-Barsany, said on Thursday that during its upcoming congress NU could modify its interpretation of its statute to give PKB "a constitutional basis" within the 35 million-strong Muslim organization.

Executives of NU's provincial chapters and regency level branches will convene in East Java's cigarette-producing town of Kediri from November 21 to November 27 to elect a new chairman in place of Abdurrahman and a chief for the Syuriah law-making body.

The secretary of NU's Central Java chapter, Muzamil, claimed on Saturday that President Abdurrahman approved the chapter's nomination of Sahal Mahfud for the Syuriah top post. Sahal is one of Abdurrahman's uncles. For the organization's top executive job, Central Java remains divided, Muzamil said.

Mustofa Bisri, Hasyim Muzadi, Said Aqiel Siradj and Fadrul Falaakh have been touted as the strongest contenders to replace Abdurrahman.
 

Aceh/West Papua

TNI in row over Aceh martial law

Jakarta -- A barrage of criticism was raised on Thursday in response to the Indonesian Military and National Police's proposal to impose limited martial law in Aceh, warning such a move could lead to further human rights violations.

National Commission on Human Rights chairman Marzuki Darusman said imposing martial law in Aceh was not "feasible" and should only be considered as the "very last" alternative.

"I do not see the feasibility of instituting martial law in Aceh," Marzuki, who was recently appointed Attorney General, told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

"It has been the experience in the past that martial law has always led to violations of human rights. What is now needed is to restore confidence in the central government and to create multiple layers of dialog with the Acehnese as a whole, and to openly recognize the Free Aceh Movement as a precondition to effective negotiations," Marzuki said.

House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung also denounced the proposal, saying the Aceh problem could only be resolved through dialog.

"There is no urgency to impose martial law in Aceh. What we have to do is just communicate with the people of Aceh and listen to what their demands are," Akbar said.

National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi said on Wednesday he wanted to impose limited martial law in some areas of the restive province. He said the police were not prepared to take over from the combat troops being pulled out of the province and face the guerrilla warfare tactics of separatists fighters. Roesmanhadi specifically mentioned the areas of Pidie, North Aceh, West Aceh and South Aceh.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo touted the proposal on Thursday, saying in Medan, North Sumatra, that martial law was necessary in areas were separatist forces were active.

Subagyo was speaking after installing Maj. Gen. Affandi as chief of the Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing Aceh and North Sumatra. Affandi replaced Maj. Gen. Abdul Rachman Gaffar.

However the proposal to enforce limited martial law in Aceh demonstrates the inconsistency of the military and police, and raises questions about their sincerity to resolve issues through nonrepressive measures.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. said a fortnight ago the "security approach" in Aceh had proven ineffective and would no longer be used. "Frankly speaking, the security approach is not the proper way to settle the Aceh problem," Widodo said on November 3.

This latest proposal has deepened the growing rift between the military and civilians on how to address unrest in the provinces following the East Timor debacle.

Amid increasing violence following the September announcement of the result of the self-determination referendum in the former Indonesian province, the military pushed through its proposal to impose martial law in the territory despite the initial rejection of the Cabinet and House.

Earlier in the day, President Abdurrahman Wahid defended his plan to hold a referendum in Aceh despite opposition from the House.

"I am myself of the opinion that there must be a referendum in Aceh," Abdurrahman told a House plenary session without saying whether the referendum would be for independence or greater autonomy within Indonesia.

Abdurrahman, however, invited legislators to debate whether a referendum was an acceptable option. "If necessary, we should fight; we should debate, as long as it is done in accordance with the law," Abdurrahman said, adding that debate was a healthy way to reach positive results.

Abdurrahman said he was still drafting his policy on Aceh and would not visit the province until the policy had been agreed upon. "I still don't know when I will go to Aceh because the policy has not yet been drafted by the government and other parties," he said outside the House.

House leaders rejected on Wednesday the idea of an independence referendum in Aceh, saying it was the government's task to maintain the integrity of the state.

They also derided Abdurrahman's statement that a referendum in Aceh could be held within seven months.

Further criticism of Abdurrahman's handling of Aceh came from political observer Eep Syaefullah Fatah.

He said the President might be oversimplifying the situation by quickly opting for a referendum without truly understanding the wider implications. "I'm afraid Abdurrahman Wahid will repeat the fatal blunder made by former president B.J. Habibie [in East Timor] in deciding to grant a referendum as the sole solution for the Acehnese.

"He [Abdurrahman] always sees everything as being simpler than it is. For example, when he said that those who violated human rights in Aceh were not TNI personnel but people wearing combat fatigues," Eep said. "That statement really hurt the Acehnese," he added.

Separately, some 100 students staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Defense in Central Jakarta demanding the prosecution of Army generals, including former president Soeharto, involved or responsible for rights abuses in Aceh.

The protesters from the University of Indonesia's Student Executive Body said they supported a referendum in Aceh as long as it was for greater autonomy within Indonesia.

Back on agenda, 30 years later

Karen Polglaze, Jakarta -- Rex Rumakiek knew the ballot would be rigged when the Indonesian administrators abolished the local parliament after it had approved a one man, one vote system.

It wasn't only the Indonesians. It appeared that the rest of the world was also prepared to sacrifice the rights of the West Papuan people for its own geostrategic interests.

Thirty years ago today, the United Nations took note of a critical report from its chief poll observer and, without debate, handed over the western half of New Guinea island to Indonesia.

But now, as the winds of democracy blow through Indonesia, hope is growing that the issue that slipped off the international agenda on November 19, 1969, can be forced back into the spotlight.

In the wake of the completely different outcome of another UN- supervised independence ballot in an Indonesian-annexed territory, East Timor, the Dutch-based Foundation for Papuan People's Study and Information has called for an international campaign to ensure the governments of the world re-examine the facts surrounding the 1969 Act of Free Choice -- the widely criticised UN-supervised process by which 1,025 West Papuans unanimously opted to integrate with Indonesia.

"At least, the governments should declare that the 1969 Act of Free Choice was a farce," the foundation says.

Mr Rumakiek, then a 21-year-old independence activist in Jayapura, the capital of the territory now called Irian Jaya, said the Indonesian administrators there at the time knew that 95 per cent of the people wanted an independent state.

As the 1962 agreement Indonesia had made with the former Dutch colonial masters stipulated an act of self-determination, they held a poll.

But they limited voters to 1,025 men, at times apparently chosen at random, and ensured the outcome would be just what they wanted.

"It was nothing like East Timor," Mr Rumakiek said. "In the early 1960s, hundreds of leaders were brought to Jakarta and they signed documents swearing allegiance to the Republic of Indonesia. So, in 1969 they were shown the documents by the military and told not to forget they had already made their choice."

At the time, the UN General Assembly simply took note of the report of the UN Secretary-General's representative for the vote, Mr Fernando Ortiz-Sanz, which contained reservations over how the terms of the 1962 agreement enabling the poll had been fulfilled, so it had never endorsed the report.

But an Australian law professor, Sam Blay, argues that although there were legal flaws and quite clear breaches of the agreement, it would be very difficult now to challenge Indonesia, The Netherlands or the UN over the act. Irian Jaya is not a state, so it would have to get another state to take the legal action on its behalf.

Professor Blay said: "What perhaps the West Papuans need is not so much legal adversaries but political allies to make the Dutch understand that they really failed, just like the Portuguese were persuaded to take up the cause of East Timor in the UN."

Professor Blay believes the West Papuans should lobby to get Australia to take up the cause, as secret documents released this year showed Australia had known what would happen and had worked to discourage nationalism among the West Papuans. Mr Rumakiek now lives in Australia. He left Jayapura in 1970, but he believes his homeland will achieve independence, and will one day return.

Migrants flee in wake of intimidation

Jeremy Wagstaff, Lhokseumawe -- Hundreds of Indonesian migrants to Aceh have fled the province in recent days because of a terror campaign apparently conducted by the armed Free Aceh Movement.

Dozens of trucks laden with families and possessions plied the main road leading south from Aceh on Thursday. Refugees who reached the North Sumatran town of Medan earlier said they had been intimidated into leaving. Some said their houses had been burned and relatives had been killed.

"We are very scared. If Aceh becomes independent, our houses will be burned and we will be killed," said a 50-year-old man who fled Aceh with six members of his family on Wednesday.

The exodus isn't particularly new: Journalists in this Acehnese port town say it has been going on for months. But recent days have seen much larger numbers leaving. A group of refugees resting in the town of Idi said they had been threatened only in the past week. The military, which has been forced to scale back its presence in Aceh, is pushing for martial law in some parts of the province.

Ethnic, religious overtones

There is no sign yet of any major humanitarian crisis. But it is a worrying indication that what has been until now largely a grievance against the Indonesian government might be turning into a conflict along ethnic or religious lines. Among the main targets: immigrants from Indonesia's main island of Java.

Whether it is a mood supported by ordinary Acehnese isn't clear. For years, opposition to Jakarta was largely confined to exiles and a shadowy guerrilla group. But since the fall of longtime President Suharto in May 1998, frustration has deepened, and become more open. Many government and security buildings in this town are burned. Some 500,000 Acehnese rallied in the Acehnese capital of Banda Aceh earlier this month demanding a referendum on the country's future.

The move put pressure on newly elected president Abdurrahman Wahid, who this week promised a referendum within seven months. The key issue, though, is over what; it isn't clear whether Mr. Wahid will include the option of independence in any such referendum. The military, long responsible for holding Indonesia together, has expressed opposition to allowing Aceh to break free.

Indeed, Indonesia has worked for years to knit the archipelago together. The country is a patchwork of ethnic groups and religions, a mix boosted by a decades-old transmigration program to spread people from densely populated Java and Bali to outer islands. The result: At least 5% of Aceh's 3.8 million people in 1996 were born outside the province. Such immigration has sown longstanding local grievances over such things as land ownership and religion.

Protesters' deadline

Members of the Free Aceh movement have denied any attempt to push out such migrants. But refugees produce evidence to the contrary; leaflets claiming to be from Free Aceh warn of violence if Javanese and other non-Acehnese don't leave. And while migrants here appear nervous about discussing the matter, people who have left the province say there has been a coordinated effort to scare away all outsiders before the end of the month. The date appears to be related to December 4, the anniversary of an uprising in 1976 and the protesters' deadline for a government response on their demands for a referendum.

Many who have left say the people harassing and threatening them are recognizable Free Aceh members. "They are the same," said a 25-year-old woman.

There are few open signs the exodus is having an impact on ordinary life in Aceh. But migrants can be seen stacking everything from cupboards to satellite dishes atop towering trucks at many intersections, leaving whole communities virtually unoccupied.

And business is unlikely to remain unaffected: A 48-year-old man, Sumatra Muchtaruddin, said he has mothballed his machinery. His work: contractor to a massive gas refinery, PT Arun, co-owned by Mobil Corp. of the US. The home he left behind is on the fringes of the refinery, where walls, streets and street lamps are daubed with the same word: Referendum.

[Special correspondent Rin Hindryati contributed to this article.]

Irian Jayans rally for independence

Jakarta -- Some 200 people seeking independence for Irian Jaya marched into the parliament complex Thursday as President Abdurrahman Wahid renewed his support for a referendum in Aceh province, witnesses said.

The demonstrators, both men and women, got into the complex in central Jakarta while the house was in session, but did not enter the chamber itself.

The protesters, some of whom were wearing the traditional dress of Irian Jaya, a huge province bordering independent Papua New Guina, carried placards reading: "Autonomy, federalism no, independence yes", an AFP reporter said.

Another placard which read "West Papuan women have no freedom" -- a reference to past human rights abuses by Indonesian military during operations against separatists there -- was held aloft by the group.

The group, shouting "thieves" then tried to chase the cars carrying Wahid and vice president Megawati Sukarnoputri as they left the complex.

The group's coordinator, Hengky Yoku, told AFP that residents across the province planned "to raise the Morning Star [separatist] flag which will be flanked by the Indonesian and United Nations flags" on December 1.

"West Papua has stood independent since December 12, 1961 ... but we were later annexed by Indonesia under the pretence that [the move] was to maintain stability in Southeast Asia from communist influence," Yoku said. The group also demanded in a statement that Jakarta pull the police and military out of the country's easternmost province.

Irian Jaya, formerly Dutch New Guinea, has seen rising protests in the past two years, most recently against Jakarta's move to split the huge province into three.

A Free Papua state was declared by Irian Jaya leaders of the Free Papua (OPM) while the territory was under Dutch occupation on December 1, 1961.

But Indonesia claimed Dutch New Guinea as its 26th province in 1963 and after UN-supervised polls there the following year, the United Nations recognised Indonesia's sovereignty over Irian Jaya in 1969.

Several Irianese leaders visited Jakarta in August to brief then president B.J. Habibie on their calls for independence, but he said the state should remain united with Indonesia.

Indonesian students demand justice

Jakarta -- Scores of Indonesian students picketed the defense ministry Thursday to demand the prosecution of top officials they accuse of human rights abuses in the restive province of Aceh.

The students demanded human rights tribunals be set up to try former president Suharto, three former military chiefs -- Benny Murdani, Try Sutrisno and Edi Sudrajat -- and former Aceh governor and ex-food minister Ibrahim Hasan.

"Bring those criminals of military operations to trial," read a placard held up by a protester.

The estimated 150 protesters from the state University of Indonesia accused Indonesia's first president Sukarno and his successor Suharto of betraying the Acehnese. "Aceh has given so much loyalty and resources but it is continually oppressed and betrayed," they said in a statement.

The students also gave President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri three months to settle the escalating crisis in the staunchly Muslim province, or resign.

Agony for Jakarta: tactics on Aceh

Thomas Fuller -- Calls for a referendum on independence are growing louder in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, where a demonstration last week drew hundreds of thousands of people.

Amien Rais, head of Indonesia's highest legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly, arrived in Aceh on Friday to meet with local government leaders, religious officials and pro- indepedence groups. He spoke with Thomas Fuller of the International Herald Tribune before returning to Jakarta.

Q. Many Acehnese equate a referendum with independence. Do you believe a referendum should be avoided at all costs? A. It is useless on the part of the Jakarta government to turn down a referendum as demanded by the Acehnese people. The best response to the Acehnese is that the central government set the date of the referendum so that the Acehnese people will be appeased and satisfied.

Q. And then what?

A. From now until the date of the referendum the central government has to do its best to convince the people in Aceh that independence is not the best solution. If wide-ranging autonomy is applied within one or two years, people in Aceh will feel that their life is improving very fast. They will see good economic infrastructure, modern hospitals, modern campuses and then the average income of the people in Aceh will increase not only in theory but in practice. Maybe then the issue of a referendum will not be as hot as it is now.

Q. When would the referendum be held?

A. Maybe two years from now. The issue of the referendum must be discussed in Parliament but also, if possible, in the People's Assembly. Only then can the date of the referendum be given.

Q. In your discussions with Acehnese leaders did you try to dissuade them from holding a referendum?

A. I have to be realistic. I don't want to swim against the tide. That's useless. I think its very obvious that people do want a referendum. And a referendum means independence. That's a fact of life.

Q. How do you view the current situation in Aceh?

A. The bureaucratic machine of the local government has been paralyzed. Students, Muslim scholars, leaders of nongovernmental organizations and intellectuals on campuses are now the effective political actors. The bureaucrats are on the sidelines and even the armed forces are considered a nuisance or troublemakers. The people in Aceh have now taken their sovereignty into their own hands.

Q. What should the central government offer Aceh to prevent it from breaking away ?

A. There are three issues or problems in Aceh. First, the violation of human rights. We have to establish justice. Those criminals, those murderers, those people who raped Acehnese women, who tortured, must be brought to court -- whether civilian or military court. It is a must that the criminals must be brought to justice.

Second, there must be power decentralization. The people in Aceh must be able to choose their own governor and their own mayors without any intervention from Jakarta any longer.

Third, the people of Aceh should be fully entitled to enjoy their own natural resources.

Q. The groups pressing for independence range from student organizations professing peace to the militant Free Aceh Movement. Do you view these groups as two sides of the same coin?

A. For the time being they have a common objective. They want full independence for Aceh. But they are split in the ultimate goal.

I said to Aceh's leaders: "Please think about the post-referendum issues. Now you don't have any rallying figure or leader who is accepted by all strata of Acehnese society."

Q. The police and army have largely stayed in their barracks in recent weeks. What does the central government do if the Movement for a Free Aceh makes headway and takes control of large parts of the province?

A. There are only two options. The government sends many battalions to Aceh to regain sovereignty.

The second option is to do nothing. If they raise their flag and close the offices of the republic, that would be a de-facto proclamation of Aceh independence.

Odds on keeping province at 50- 50

Amy Chew of Reuters in Jakarta -- The odds on Indonesia holding on to Aceh are no better than even, and a political solution must be found to stop separatist pressure breaking the country apart, the Regional Autonomy Minister said.

Ryaas Rasyid said separatists had been mounting an effective campaign for a referendum on independence.

Asked what the chances were that Aceh would break away, he said: "I think 50-50. Psychologically, they have been successful in internalising the spirit of referendum among the people."

Mr Rasyid said time was running out to solve the Aceh problem. "They are moving faster than we do. A political solution is important here," he said.

Mr Rasyid acknowledged Aceh was a litmus test -- and would determine whether the vast archipelago spread across 17,000 islands would hold together.

"It's the most serious situation we are facing now. If Indonesia should disintegrate, it would start in Aceh and Irian Jaya, that's what I believe," he said. "If we could solve Aceh and Irian Jaya, it would be helpful to maintaining the continuation of the unitary state."

Jakarta also faces separatist pressure in southwest Sulawesi island and in the Sumatran province of Riau.

Indonesia's new Government has made preserving national unity a central priority, and plans to offer more autonomy to try to placate restive provinces. The new cabinet post of Regional Autonomy Minister was created in line with this aim.

Mr Rasyid said his job was to provide "technical support" to any political solution to Aceh, including special autonomy.

As the head of the newly-created ministry, Mr Rasyid is charged with holding the country together by shifting power and wealth from the centre to the provinces to ease regional tensions.

He is the architect of the regional autonomy and fiscal balance law which will give more power and wealth to the provinces, and which he hopes to implement in January.

Mr Rasyid expects to face resistance from central government agencies opposed to giving up their power to the provinces.

Indonesia aimed to bring those suspected of violating human rights in Aceh to trial as soon as possible, Minister of Human Rights Hasballah Saad, an Achenese, said yesterday.

Facts about Aceh

Jakarta -- Demands for an East Timor-style referendum on self- determination are on the rise in the staunchly Muslim Indonesian province of Aceh after decades of violence involving soldiers, civilians and armed separatist rebels. Here are some facts about the province:

Population: 5,114,850.

Geography: Aceh stretches over 55,390 square kilometers on the northernmost tip of Sumatra island.

Capital: Banda Aceh.

Language: Indonesian, Acehnese.

Religion: Muslim (97.6%), Christian (1.7%), Hindu (0.08%), Buddhist (0.55%).

Economy: Coconuts, coffee, timber, tobacco, oil and natural gas.

History: Aceh was already an important trading center and a seat of Islamic learning by the 16th century.

Its power began to decline towards the end of 17th century, but it remained independent of the Dutch who dominated the rest of the Indonesian archipelago.

In 1873, the Netherlands declared war on Aceh after negotiating a treaty in which Britain withdrew any objections to their occupation of Aceh.

The first Dutch force of 7,000 men retreated when its commander, General Kohler, was killed. A new army contingent, twice as large, succeeded in taking the capital, the central mosque and the sultan's palace, but the war dragged on for 35 years before the last sultan, Tuanku Muhammad Daud, surrendered.

Even then no Dutch area was safe from guerrilla attack from the Acehnese until the Dutch surrendered to Japan in 1942.

The Japanese were welcomed at first but resistance soon sprang up. This period saw the Islamic Party, which had been formed in 1939 under the leadership of Daud Beureuh, emerge as a political force.

With the birth of the Indonesian republic in 1945, Aceh was given special territory status but in 1951 Jakarta dissolved the province and incorporated it into the predominantly Christian province of North Sumatra.

Angry at the move, Beureuh proclaimed Aceh an independent Islamic Republic in September 1953.

This lasted until 1961 when military and religous leaders fell out. The central government resolved the conflict by returning the status of special province to Aceh.

In 1976 a separatist group, the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh Movement) was established to fight for an independent Islamic state of Aceh.

Aceh was declared a military operation area in 1988 and Indonesian troops were deployed to quash the separatist movement. Soldiers have since been accused by human rights groups of widespread violations.

Aceh has seen massive popular demonstrations in the past six months in support of a referendum on self-determination. At least 260 people, mostly troops and civilians, have died in the unrest.

A million march for referendum

Banda Aceh -- Up to a million people rallied here Monday to demand a referendum for self-determination in Indonesia's volatile province of Aceh and show they had popular backing.

In the largest public rally for a referendum in Aceh so far, Muslim leaders, student representatives, non-governmental activists and officials took turns to address the crowd, massed in and around the Baiturrahman main mosque in the center of Aceh's provincial capital.

While the organizers and some of the speakers emphasized that the gathering was a peaceful venture, one of the speakers, a woman activist from Pidie district, Cut Nur Asyikin, roused the crowd asking if they were prepared "to go on Jihad if the referendum does not take place." She was refering to a Muslim holy war. Aceh is a staunchly Muslim stronghold.

A petition in support of a referendum for Aceh, to be sent to the leaders of the Indonesian legislature and to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, was also signed at the mosque by the leader of the Aceh parliament, Muhammad Yus and Vice Governor Bustari Mansyur.

"Today, it has been proven that all the people of Aceh are united, and came to Banda Aceh to voice their aspiration and demand for a referendum," Teungku Bulkaini, a traditional Muslim leader, told the crowd according to the Detikcom online news service.

The organizers unveiled a huge billboard in front of the mosque's main minaret that read "The People of Aceh Want a Referendum on Staying or Breaking Away from RI [the Republic of Indonesia,]" to heavy applause.

Yells of "Merdeka (Freedom)", "Long Live the People of Aceh" and "Long Live Referendum," and "A united Aceh people cannot be defeated," resounded.

In Jakarta, Indonesian House Speaker Akbar Tanjung called on Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid to visit Aceh as soon as possible.

"If this is not done, I am afraid that unwanted things could happen," Tanjung said after a Golkar party meeting. He reminded Wahid of his promise that one of the first Indonesian regions he would visit would be Aceh.

Wahid had pledged to personally handle the problems of Aceh while he assigned Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri to deal with the country's other troubled provinces such as the Maluku islands and Irian Jaya.

Elected last month, Wahid has promised wider autonomy for the country's disparate regions, including Aceh.

The "General Assembly of the Fighters for Referendum" (SU-MPR), organized by the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), a group gathering students and non-government organizations, was started at around 8:45am with the raising of a giant flag.

A four by eight meter white flag carrying the word "Referendum" in bold blue letters, was hoisted on the mosque's front flag pole.

Young and old, men and veiled women, almost all wore bandanas inscribed with the word "Referendum." Some wore the bandana over their black "Kopiah" hat, a Malay hat which has come to mostly symbolize Muslim Malays.

The rally ended at around noon, and the participants, many of whom had travelled at day-break from the far corners of the province, jammed the city's streets on their way home.

There was no reported violence and not a single uniformed Indonesian soldier or police officer was seen in the area. The head of the Aceh Besar police command which oversees security in the capital, Lieutenant Colonel Dedy Suryadi was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying security personnel had been ordered not to use their weapons.

The opportunity was not missed by some 100 inmates of the state jail here who forced open the main gate to escape. Aceh activists also held pro-referendum street rallies in Medan, North Sumatra and in the capital, Jakarta.
 

Human rights/law

Federal Gov. obstructing ICJ

Malcolm Brown -- The Federal Government was accused yesterday of obstructing efforts by the International Commission of Jurists to obtain evidence from East Timorese evacuees in Australia about atrocities committed in their country.

The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Nicholas Cowdery, QC, speaking as national co-ordinator of the East Timor Evidence Project for the ICJ, said people wanting to get access to the evacuees at safe havens in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia had been blocked.

The Minister for Immigration, Mr Ruddock, had written to the president of the ICJ's Australian Section, Justice John Dowd, saying task force members who wished to speak to the East Timorese evacuees would not be allowed to enter the safe havens for that purpose.

In a letter dated November 12, Mr Ruddock wrote: "I appreciate the genuine desire to assist the United Nations of the ICJ and the eminence of many of the jurists involved but without UN accreditation it would be inappropriate for the Government to facilitate access to people in safe havens by any organisation.

"However, members of the committee would not be prevented from speaking to the East Timorese at the express initiation of the East Timorese evacuees themselves. Naturally, East Timorese in the havens are free to come and go as they please.

"This approach is a balanced one. On the one hand, assist proper investigation of crimes against humanity and, on the other, maintaining the freedom of the East Timorese in havens and protecting the rights of people likely to have been traumatised by the experience."

Mr Cowdery said yesterday: "The Government is intent on establishing normal relationships with Indonesia and not willing to assist in any activity which may result in criticism of Indonesia.

"But we argue that a sensible desire to establish normal relationships should be balanced, given the need to discover the truth of what happened, to achieve justice for those who suffered under the occupation and particularly during the last 18 months."

Mr Cowdery said the practical effect of the Government policy was that people working for the ICJ project had to get word into evacuees living within the safe havens at East Hills in Sydney, Puckapunyal in Victoria and Leeuwin base in Western Australia that ICJ representatives would like to speak to them.

There were "some hundreds" of evacuees who could be spoken to, and about 700 volunteers in the ICJ task force, many of them lawyers, prepared to take statements and put them in a form that would be acceptable before any international criminal tribunal that might be set up.

"We want to take that evidence now while the details are still fresh and before it becomes contaminated in the legal sense by people sharing recollections and so forth," Mr Cowdery said.

"But what we have to do now is invite them to get in touch with us. This makes it very inefficient. It makes it very slow and the concern is that time will escape and that people who are in a position and do want to talk will go back to East Timor before there is an opportunity to speak to them."

A five-member international panel had been established by the United Nations to look at information on East Timor and the Australian section of the ICJ had until early next month to report to them.

The panel in turn had to report by December 31, so there was very little time. The task force had already given background material and intelligence to the panel, but there was a lot more it could get.

Mr Cowdery said the task force did not have formal UN accreditation, though the UN Human Rights Commission and its head, Ms Mary Robinson, were aware of what was being done and approved of it.

Belo says rights probe too late

Joanne Collins, Dili -- East Timor spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Belo on Monday condemned UN slowness over an inquiry into abuses in the territory, saying evidence had long gone.

"It is too late already," he told Reuters in an interview. "We still don't have this team present in East Timor and ... some of the bodies have already disappeared and some of the places where the crimes were committed have already been cleaned up."

A five-member UN human rights team is not due until November 24 -- more than six weeks after violence erupted following the East Timorese vote to split from Indonesia.

The United Nations has come under mounting criticism for its slowness in sending a special commission to investigate the violence that erupted when pro-Jakarta militias went on the rampage after the August 30 UN-run ballot.

"The final rubber stamp is being put on the commission in New York today." a UN official in Dili said.

Belo said he believed the UN, in seeking to maintain good diplomatic relations with Indonesia, had stalled too long on approving the commission.

"This diplomacy ... is giving Indonesia the opportunity to avoid the institution or establishment of this tribunal," the Nobel peace laureate said.

Hundreds of thousands of East Timor's 800,000 people fled their homes during the rampage that wrecked virtually every village and town across the impoverished territory, but numbers of dead and missing remain sketchy.

Locals said hundreds of people were killed by the militia, but so far a multinational force sent in to restore peace has not found hard evidence of mass killings.

Belo's remarks come on the eve of Tuesday's arrival of Sergio Vieira de Mello, who will head the UN mission overseeing the territory's transition to independence. De Mello has said his top priority would be to establish a credible system of justice.

Belo also joined other local leaders in criticising the United Nations and aid agencies over problems with aid delivery and the failure to train local workers.

"They would not be here forever so they must prepare the local people to take more responsibility," Belo said.

"The problem is everything, not only food distribution, medicine and shelter. [Rebuilding] ... must involve the Timorese people because they know the situation."

Rape, killing not rights abuses: TNI

Jakarta -- The Indonesian army's legal chief said rape and killing should not be classified as human rights violations and is calling for soldiers accused of rights abuses to be tried in military courts, according to reports here Saturday.

Major General Timor Manurung, who heads the military's legal department, said a clear definition of what constituted human rights abuses needed to be hammered before any cases were heard.

"If a member of TNI [Indonesian Armed Forces] kills or rapes it does not directly come under the category of human rights violation, but general crimes and therefore there should be a clear and firm image of what consists a human rights violation," Manurung was quoted as saying by the Media Indonesia daily.

Manurung also called for any rights cases to be tried in a military tribunal instead of a civilian court.

"Because members of the TNI [the Indonesian Armed Forces] are some sort of officials of the state, those who violate the law should be tried by a military tribunal," Manurung told the paper

There has been growing pressure for the military to account for its record of violence and human rights violations, especially in the troubled province of Aceh where separatists have demanded the punishment of soldiers guilty of brutal repression.

The Indonesian military has been accused of widespread human rights violations during a 10-year campaign to crush the separatist movement which was only called off last year. More than 2,000 people are believed to have been killed.

Despite the end of operations, the province has continued to be wracked by violence with some 300 people killed since May.

An independent commission probing atrocities in Aceh has said it had names of active and retired officers involved in human rights violations and that the dossiers of five main cases had been forwarded to the attorney general. The commission has also called for the setting up of a special tribunal to hear the cases.

Jakarta has said the first trials hearing allegations of human rights violations in Aceh were expected to open next week.

Military Spokesman Major General Sudrajat said that anywhere in the world, soldiers are court martialled and not judged in a civilian court. "Military laws are harsher than civilian laws," Sudrajat said, according to deticom, an online news service.

Manurung said the use of military tribunals "is not intended to lighten the sentences or make soldiers immune from the law. It is not also intended to freeze cases of law violations involving members of the TNI," he said.

A number of soldiers have been court martialled for past violence, including incidents in Aceh, but their sentences have been far more lenient than those meted out by civilian courts for similar crimes.

Human rights activists have also said that so far, only footsoldiers and lower officers have been court martialled over the violence and that the higher echelons have always escaped unharmed.

But Sudrajat was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying that higher officers could only be brought to court if there were clear indications that the violations by the soldiers were made under their direct instructions.

"If for example, a soldier kills someone, he should be punished for the deed and not his commander, unless it was done at the order of the commander," Sudrajat said.

UN group backs Timor rights inquiry

United Nations -- Despite objections from Indonesia and nine other countries, the UN Economic and Social Council on Monday endorsed the call for an international commission to gather information on possible human rights violations in East Timor.

The commission of inquiry, which could be the first step toward establishment of a UN war crimes tribunal for East Timor, is supported by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and was approved in September by the UN Human Rights Commission.

In Monday's roll-call vote in the Economic and Social Council, 27 countries backed the Human Rights Commission's call for an international inquiry, 10 opposed it and 11 abstained. The opponents included China, India, Indonesia, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Vietnam.

The 54-member council, an organ of the General Assembly, coordinates UN economic and social work including the promotion of respect for human rights.

The European Union insisted at the Human Rights Commission that an investigation should be internationally led with Indonesian participation. But Indonesia opposed an international inquiry and supported a national fact-finding mission -- a position it maintained on Monday. Details of the investigation must be worked out by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Economic and Social Council condemned "the widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in East Timor" and "the activities of the militias in terrorizing the population."

It endorsed the call on the secretary-general to establish an international commission of inquiry "with adequate representation of Asian experts" to cooperate with the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights and UN investigators to gather information on possible violations.

The council also supported the commission's call to provide the secretary-general with the international commission's conclusions "with a view to enabling him to make recommendations on future actions."

During Monday's debate, Indonesia's UN Ambassador Makarim Wibisono reiterated his country's rejection of an international inquiry and questioned the legality of the Human Rights Commission's September meeting and Robinson's impartiality.

He stressed that following East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence on August 30, Indonesia transferred authority for the territory to the United Nations and began a national fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations.

Since Indonesia voted against an international inquiry again on Monday, Wibisono said it was not legally bound by the council's decision. However, he said his government remained committed to fully cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms and to holding those responsible for human rights abuses accountable.

Portugal's UN Ambassador Antonio Monteiro said Indonesia's cooperation was essential and could open a new era in the region.

He expressed hope that in the future the Human Rights Commission could work with the full cooperation of democratic Indonesia, saying an international inquiry would allow for reconciliation in East Timor.

MPR agrees to release political prisoners

Jakarta -- The House of Representatives' 11 factions have unanimously approved President Abdurrahman Wahid's request to grant amnesty and absolution to some 85 political detainees and prisoners.

In a letter dated October 27, President Abdurrahman asked the House to grant amnesty or absolution to people put behind bars for subversion. The list of amnesty recipients consists of East Timorese political prisoners, people involved in various subversion cases in Aceh and Lampung and five members of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), including its chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko.

The PRD leaders were imprisoned for supposedly masterminding riots following the government-backed violent takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters from Megawati Soekarnoputri's supporters on July 27, 1996.

The newly amended 1945 Constitution requires the president to consult the House before granting amnesty or absolution to political prisoners. During Monday's plenary session, the House members also urged the government to grant amnesty or absolution to other political detainees and prisoners across the country not included on the list.

However, the House declined to release those who were jailed either for involvement in the September 30, 1965 abortive coup or for their links to the banned Indonesian Communist Party, which was blamed for masterminding the 1965 coup.

Murder probe points to military

Cameron W. Barr -- Members of an Indonesian military unit known as Battalion 745 are the leading suspects in the execution-style murder of Monitor contributor Sander Thoenes, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Mr. Thoenes was put to death on September 21 with a single shot after he was dragged away from a main road leading out of the East Timor capital of Dili, say two well-placed sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The investigation is being pursued with vigor and thoroughness as far as circumstances allow," adds Cmdr. Alan Castle, an Australian police officer with the UN mission in East Timor and coordinator of the investigation.

"I believe there are few avenues of inquiry left in East Timor. And there are other links with a TNI unit which should be pursued," he says, using the acronym for the Indonesian military. That unit is Battalion 745, sources say. The Indonesian military has made some officers available to international investigators for questioning, but they deny its soldiers were responsible for the murder.

The investigators include civilian police at the UN mission, military police attached to the international force now restoring order in East Timor, and Dutch police officers who are working on the case because Thoenes was a citizen of the Netherlands.

The investigators are wrapping up the initial inquiry and will soon prepare a report on the matter for the United Nations. But because suspicion has been cast on Battalion 745, says one diplomat familiar with the case, "the cooperation of Indonesia in the next phase is even more important than in the current one."

Whether justice is served in this case now depends on the willingness of the Indonesian government and its military to proceed, says the diplomat. So far, however, Indonesian officials and officers have done little more than respond -- sometimes belatedly -- to requests from Dutch and UN investigators and from the commander of the international force in East Timor.

"We are disappointed by the apparent lack of action on the Indonesian side," says Peter Thoenes, Sander's brother and spokesman for his family. "This is all the more surprising in view of the strong indications that Sander was brutally murdered by regular troops from the Indonesian Army."

But senior Indonesian officials appear unwilling to countenance accusations against the military, a respected institution in the country. It remains unclear whether Indonesia's newly elected president, Abdurrahman Wahid, will choose to pursue the Thoenes case, since doing so might complicate relations with the military.

"The [members of the] Indonesian military may not be the brightest people in the world, but they are very careful about not killing journalists," says Dewi Fortuna Anwar, foreign policy adviser to Indonesia's former president, B.J. Habibie. "I don't believe Indonesian soldiers would be interested in killing journalists, especially at the end of their tour of duty."

Thoenes's death took place in the midst of a violent transition in East Timor. On August 30, voters in the territory overwhelmingly opted to break away from Indonesia, igniting angry reprisals from militia groups and Indonesian soldiers opposed to independence.

As a group of nations led by Australia prepared to send troops into the territory to restore peace, Indonesian soldiers and pro-Indonesia militia members evicted large numbers of East Timorese from their homes and destroyed houses and other property.

The soldiers and militia members also began to leave the soon-to-be-independent territory -- crossing the border that divides Timor island into East and West. West Timor is part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara.

On September 20, the international force began arriving in Dili, followed a day later by two planeloads of journalists flying in from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Thoenes went to Dili on assignment for his main employer, The Financial Times of London. After depositing his bags at a hotel, Thoenes hired a motorcycle taxi and headed to an eastern suburb of the city to survey the destruction and do some reporting.

Thoenes was known as a careful reporter in such circumstances. Several days before his death, he and other journalists had decided against organizing an earlier flight to Dili because of security concerns.

As the reporter and his driver proceeded east, says a self- proclaimed eyewitness interviewed by the Monitor, they encountered a group of soldiers belonging to Battalion 745 who were moving in the opposite direction. Riding in trucks and motorcycles, the soldiers were accompanied by militia members displaying Indonesian flags.

At the time, Battalion 745 had vacated its base in Los Palos, a town at the eastern tip of East Timor and its soldiers were traveling toward West Timor. There is evidence indicating that the 745 may have been involved in several incidents as it moved across the island.

Shortly before Thoenes was killed, a British reporter and an American photographer traveling on the same road also ran into Battalion 745 soldiers, who terrorized them, beat their driver, and abducted their translator.

Thoenes and his driver apparently attempted to flee the oncoming troops, and the driver has said that the soldiers fired shots in their direction and pursued them on motorcycles. The driver says he lost control of his own motorcycle and ran away, adding that he last saw Thoenes lying motionless on the road.

Alexandre Estevao, a farmer in the region, says he saw soldiers in Battalion 745 uniforms dragging Thoenes off the road and into the secluded area where his body was later found.

Some time later, investigators believe he was killed with a single shot through the chest. "There's no doubt about that at all," says one source, referring to the execution-style circumstances of the murder.

Thoenes's head and face were deliberately mutilated. It is hard to know what to make of the mutilation or to conclude exactly when it took place in relation to the time of Thoenes's death.

"I believe [the killers] wanted to send a message," says the source, but like others familiar with the details of the killing, he cannot specify what the message was supposed to convey or to whom it was directed.
 

Environment/Health

HIV spread uncontrolled: Official

Jakarta -- The spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the country remains unknown after 12 years of efforts to trace people infected with the deadly virus, a health official said on Monday.

The Ministry of Health's acting Director General of Communicable Disease Control and Environmental Health, Umar Fahmi, said that unlike other countries with HIV epidemics such as Thailand, health workers in Indonesia had yet to find an appropriate system to record the number of people who were HIV positive.

"In the absence of a system, we cannot control the spread of HIV. Without data on the exact number of HIV positive people it is difficult for us to check the disease," Umar told The Jakarta Post.

The ministry currently has in place a recording system which relies heavily on findings by non-governmental organizations (NGO) members and data provided by hospitals or community health centers.

"Such a community-based method only allows us to cover the tip of the iceberg, without knowing the real number of HIV positive people," said Umar, who is acting in the position of director general following Achmad Sujudi's appointment as minister of health.

Medical experts have yet to discover a cure for HIV, which leads to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Umar said the government and the NGOs regularly checked up on HIV positive people and those with AIDS, but that there was no way to supervise health care for unreported people with AIDS or that were HIV positive.

"Thus, although the number of people that are HIV positive or have AIDS discovered in Indonesia are fewer than in Thailand, the actual figure is perhaps the other way around," Umar said.

The ministry found between January and October this year 187 HIV carriers and 38 people who suffered from full-blown AIDS across the country. The figure brings the total number of people infected with HIV to 1,005. Of that number, 265 of them have AIDS.

Umar said he feared that the real number of people that were HIV positive or had AIDS could quintuple the existing government data.

The government was concerned about unsafe sex services for growing numbers of expatriates in remote areas across the country, he said, citing the difficulties in tracing people with AIDS or people that were HIV positive.

"It is easier for us to trace HIV carriers or people with AIDS who live in brothel complexes."

He suggested the government adopt mandatory health insurance for all citizens, saying it was a move applied in developed countries to control the spread of the disease.

"If everybody registered themselves for the program, we would have access to their health records and [be able to] identify all HIV cases," he said.