Indonesian
Troops Massacre Civilians
By John Aglionby in Cot
Raboe
The Guardian
22 May, 2003
Indonesian forces were yesterday
accused of massacring civilians during a raid against separatist guerillas
in Aceh province on Monday. The 18 killings, which included the reported
shooting at point-blank range of two 12-year-old boys, happened during
dawn raids in four villages in Bireuen district, villagers alleged.
Residents of Cot Raboe, a
village six miles from the town of Bireuen, set in a copse of tropical
trees and surrounded by rice paddies and shrimp ponds, said they were
woken at 5.30am by the sound of gunfire outside their homes.
Musafari, a community leader,
said: "There were well over 100 soldiers charging through the village,
and a helicopter hovering overhead.
"We were all too afraid
to come out of our houses to see what was really going on."
Another villager, Sayful,
said the soldiers barged into his house. "They told me to get up
and then they just pulled me out of the house and started hitting me
with a piece of wood," he said.
"They kept asking where
the rebels were. I said there weren't any, but they didn't listen."
The shooting lasted for more
than 30 minutes. The villagers said that when they emerged from their
homes they found that one young man had been killed in the village and
three teenagers and two 12-year-olds lay dead in the rice paddies and
fish ponds.
"My son, Annas Nazir
Abdurrahman, had been shot four times, in the head, chest, thigh and
calf," said Mohammed Nazir of one of the youngest victims.
Mr Nazir found his son's
body in an unplanted, water-filled paddy field, about 10 metres from
the bamboo and thatch hut from where he and his four friends had been
guarding the fields and ponds.
Two others were found in
the same paddy fields.
Sarjani bin Amaruddin, another
villager, said: "I was chased into one of the shrimp ponds, with
bullets pinging all around me. But then instead of killing me they pulled
me out and started beating me with their rifles."
He had an inverted V-shape
of bruises and cuts the length of his torso.
Similar scenes were reported
at about the same time in the neighbouring villages of Cot Bate, where
eight people were killed, and Pata Mamplam and Pulo Naleng, where two
people were killed in each village. Residents said they believed the
helicopter was coordinating the operation.
Witnesses in Cot Bate said
many of the victims, who were buried within hours of their deaths in
accordance with Islamic tradition, were shot at close range.
"We have counted that
at least 30 people were beaten or tortured," Musafari said. "The
ambulance crews told us the soldiers blocked them from entering to look
after the wounded."
Indonesia's military commander
in Aceh, Major General Endang Suwarya, said there were no civilian casualties
in the province yesterday but that nine separatists had been killed
in military operations in Bireuen district.
Indonesia launched its military
campaign against the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) on Monday after last-minute
talks to save a ceasefire signed five months ago collapsed. Military
commanders have stressed that civilians would not be targeted but that
Gam members would be "crushed" if they did not surrender.
People in the raided villages
denied that any of the victims were Gam members.
Mahmood Malik, whom Gam considers
its prime minister, urged the UN to intervene immediately. He called
for an international fact-finding mission to be sent to the province
to investigate the "crimes against humanity that have been committed".
Lieutenant Colonel Yani Basuki,
a military spokesman, refused to comment on the incident. "We are
still checking the reports," he said. "We will have more details
tomorrow."
But Mr Nazir said none of
his son's killers would ever face justice. "There's no way we are
going to complain," he said. "We are far too afraid of the
Indonesian military. There's nothing we can do."
Gen Endang also said that
he was imposing restrictions on the media, reversing earlier promises
of free access. He said journalists who quoted Gam spokesmen would be
banned from the province.