Seeking justice in Aceh still has a long way to go
In an interview in today's Suara Pembaruan, the attorney-general Marzuki Darusman reveals that he has serious misgivings about the trial which is due to start next week in Banda Aceh. Altogether 25 defendants will be in the dock, of whom 24 are soldiers and one is a civilian. They will face charges in connection with the massacre of more than fifty people at a religious school in Beutong Ateuh, West Aceh on 23 July 1999; the head of the school, Tengku Bantaqiah, and several members of his family were among those shot dead.The trial will be heard before a koneksitas or 'inter-connection' court...
157, April 2000
Bulletin no. 157 Contents1. A Reign of Terror in Aceh2. Seeking justice in Aceh is getting nowhere [text unavailable]3. No respite in Aceh killings [text unavailable]4. Defending women's rights in Aceh5. Impressions of East Timor6. Human rights court to be established7. Serious blows for the military [text unavailable]8. Bakorstanas and Litsus powers revoked [text unavailable]9. President wants 1965 killings investigated10. Report on UK companies11. The Nabire tragedy [text unavailable]12. Papuan Congress rejects 1969 Act [text unavailable...
Ending the cycle of impunity. Can the East Timor Investigations Pave the Way?
When three army generals were publicly grilled in November by members of Indonesia’s newly elected Parliament, the DPR, about atrocities in Aceh, the whole nation was transfixed by the three- hour spectacle on their television screens. Now, at last, after more than three decades of impunity, men with the blood of many victims on their hands were being called to account. Then on 24 December, General Wiranto, former commander-in-chief of the Indonesian armed forces, TNI, was summoned to appear before a civilian commission investigating crimes against humanity in East Timor. That he agreed to...
Crisis in Aceh threatens Indonesian unity
Only months after the East Timorese cast an overwhelming vote for independence from 24 years of Indonesian rule, the national unity of Indonesia is being challenged once again as calls for self-determination in other regions escalate at an alarming rate. The most urgent of these upheavals is taking place in Aceh, a province on the North-western tip of the Indonesian archipelago, where a huge majority of the population are seeking an end to over 50 years of Javanese control.In a country made up of 13,000 islands, 213 million people, and hundreds of distinct ethnic and linguistic groups, many...
Report on East Timorese refugees in West Timor
While international aid flows into East Timor, about a quarter of the country's population remains inside Indonesian West Timor. Many refugees want to return home, but they remain in West Timor only as a result of a campaign of human rights violations, intimidation and disinformation by armed groups within the refugee camps. Intimidation is also directed at international agencies resulting in the isolation of refugees from both humanitarian aid and repatriation efforts. So far only 28,000 refugees out of a total of 220,000 have been repatriated, while another 17,000 have crossed the border on...
154-155, November 1999
Bulletin no. 154 Contents1. Human rights agenda for the government2. East Timor wins its independence [text unavailable]3. East Timor: How many people died? [text unavailable]4. East Timor: Nationalist backlash and the Indonesian press [text unavailable]5. East Timorese trapped in West Timor [text unavailable]6. East Timor: Observing the fear and terror [text unavailable]7. Xanana and Horta on Timor's future [text unavailable]8. UN Commission of inquiry set up [text unavailable]9. The Kopassus-militia alliance10. The TNI’s...
153, July 1999
Bulletin no. 153 Contents1. East Timor: Referendum to be held in East Timor2. The army's dirty war in East Timor - Indonesian Police, the prodigal son [text unavailable]3. Politics: Free elections after 44 years4. Aceh: Turmoil in Aceh escalates5. West Papua: Truth about Biak atrocity revealed - Joint SAS-Kopassus hostage operation [text unavailable]6. Literature: Pramoedya warmly welcomed everywhere7. 1965 massacre: Suharto must be indicted8. Police open fire on demonstrators [text unavailable] 1. Referendum to be held in East TimorAfter 23 years of...
Statement on East Timor to the United Nations Special Committee
Mr. Chairman and Honourable Members,TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign is grateful for this opportunity to petition the Committee once again on East Timor. This Committee has for years been a platform for petitions to expose the depressing features of the East Timor tragedy. East Timor is today the centre of international attention following the Accords signed on 5 May between Indonesia and Portugal and the adoption of resolutions 1236 and 1246 by the UN Security Council We welcome the establishment of UNAMET, the UN Assistance Mission to East Timor, whose task is to organise a free...
The indictment of TNI officers for violations in East Timor
The continued presence of the TNI, the Indonesian army, in East Timor in the run-up to the UN-conducted Consultation on 8 August 1999, is a major factor keeping the territory in a state of fear and tension. It is very regrettable that the Accords signed by Indonesia and Portugal under the aegis of the UN Secretary-General on 5 May 1999 did not provide for the withdrawal of TNI but said only that its forces should be 'redeployed'. To create an environment conducive to the free and fair conduct of the Consultation, the TNI should be withdrawn in its entirety. In the meanwhile, it is clear that...
The 1965 Coup in Indonesia - A Bibliography
Amnesty International Dutch Section. Indonesia Special, March 1973Anderson, B. How did the generals die ? Indonesia No. 43 April 1987 Anderson, B. & McVev. R. A preliminary analysis of the Octoher 1, 1965, coup in Indonesia. Cornell Universitv Press, 1971 Anderson, B. & McVey, R. What happened in Indonesia? New York Review of Books June 1 1978 Aveling, H. ed. Gestapu: Indonesian short stories on the abortive communist coup of 30 September 1965 Honolulu: University of Hawaii Southeast Asian Studies Working Paper No. 6 1975 Bass, J. The PKI and the Attempted Coup Journal of Southeast...
The TNI's 'Dirty War' in East Timor
The decision by President Habibie on 27 January 1999 to allow the people of East Timor to choose between autonomy within Indonesia and independence prompted a reaction within the Indonesian armed forces, the TNI, the Indonesian National Army (formerly known as ABRI) to defy their supreme commander, a weak civilian president, and mount an operation to render the decision unworkable. In order to reverse the Habibie decision, a new military intelligence operation was launched. Within weeks of the Habibie decision, a Crisis Team on East Timor to wage a 'dirty war' was set up under Major-General...
'A global failure on human rights in East Timor'
East Timor in Transition, Sovereignty. Self-Determination and Human Rights
Conference speech by Carmel Budiardjo, Nottingham University, May 1999 At a time when the world’s press is awash with information about the tragic plight of hundreds of thousands of Kosovars who have been forced to leave their country, while NATO forces, claiming to act for the international community, pound Serbian military and non-military installations, it is worth reflecting on what the international community, for want of a better term, has done over the past 23 years to stay the hand of one of the...
152, May 1999
Bulletin no.152 Contents1. Growing conflicts within ABRI2. Mass killings sweep across East Timor3. Ethnic cleansing of Madurese4. Maluku: the violence spreads5. Political killings in West Java6. Police separated from the armed forces7. Anti-subversion law repeal changes little 1. Growing conflicts within ABRIRecent events in East Timor, West Kalimantan and Maluku expose deep-rooted differences within the Indonesian armed forces, ABRI, both at the top and in the field. Indonesian contemporary history is marked by violent internal conflicts resulting in misery for the Indonesian...
Comments on the 1997 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls
April 1999 1. For many years TAPOL has been concerned that British military equipment exported to Indonesia has been directly involved in violations of human rights and has strengthened a military regime engaged in international aggression against East Timor. TAPOL has called for, and continues to call for, a complete ban on all arms exports to Indonesia. 2. In relation to Indonesia, the Annual Report shows that, between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 1997, the Government issued 34 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) for ‘Goods on the Military List’, 5 SIELs for ‘Other goods’ and...
Tapol speech on Aceh
Delivered at the International Conference on Aceh, Washington (US), 3 April 1999I must first extend warm greetings from TAPOL and our gratitude to the International Forum on Aceh for holding this conference and inviting us to attend. We are very keen to be a part of the joint efforts to mobilise international support for the people of Aceh in the struggle to have their human rights upheld in all respects. We now stand at a turning point in the struggle of the Acehnese people. The downfall last year of Suharto, the Indonesian dictator, opened the floodgates for thousands of Acehnese,...
Impact of the Asian crisis on minorities
Delivered at the Conference on the Asian Crisis "A Chance for Democracy and Human Rights?", Berlin, 26 - 28 March 1999 Many journalists nowadays raise the burning question: Is Indonesia facing Balkanisation? If one follows recent events in Indonesia it is tempting to answer in the affirmative, but my answer is: I don’t think so. The danger facing Indonesia at present is much more one of social rather than territorial of disintegration Any country hit by economic contraction of 15 per cent after years of 7 per cent growth, comparable to the global crisis of the thirties, will face...
151, March 1999
Bulletin no. 151Contents1. East Timor: Indonesia's retreat from East Timor2. Social Unrest: Huge death toll in Maluku riots3. Aceh: Army shoots scores of people in Aceh [text unavailable]4. Aceh: Army brutality reigns supreme in Aceh [text unavailable]5. Aceh: 'You'd better come along with us...' [text unavailable]6. Armed Forces: Major reshuffle in ABRI [text unavailable]7. Armed Forces: Trial of Kopassus abductors a farce [text unavailable]8. Human Rights: Indicting Suharto9. UK-Indonesia Ties: Governments shamed by TV programmes [text...
149-150 December 1998
Dec 1998 Bulletin no. 149 Contents 1. East Timor: Are the forces of occupation losing control? 2. East Timor: Jakarta offers autonomy 3. East Timor: Calls for the governor to resign 4. East Timor: Renewed military operations 5. East Timor: Killings and terror in Alas 6. East Timor: Students occupy parliament building 7. Aceh: Conflict with ABRI intensifies 8. Aceh: Lhokseumawe explodes on 2 November 9. Aceh: Shoot-out at Kandang 10: May riots: The findings of the TGPF 11: Aceh: Forcibly deported refugee Ishak Daud goes on trial 12: Jakarta: Students shot dead...
East Timor under the Indonesian jackboot
Occasional Report No. 26, Oct 98 - An Analysis of Indonesian Army DocumentsIn October 1998 a large number of Indonesian army documents found their way out of East Timor and landed on the desk of an East Timor solidarity activist in Australia. The documents, in total more than 100 pages, consist of numerous tables containing details of military personnel in East Timor and covering many aspects of the army's presence in the occupied country. They provide, for the first time ever, a comprehensive picture of the precise nature of the army's structure in the territory and the extent and depth of...