Copyright © Reuters, Aug 9, 1999
Aceh Rebels Deny Executions
JAKARTA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday denied charges by human rights watchdog Amnesty International that they were executing military informers.
Free Aceh Movement spokesman Ismail Sahputra said military informers were vital witnesses to military atrocities and would be needed to testify against abuses committed by troops in the nine-year operation that has killed about 2,000 people.
``We have never killed civilians who work with the Indonesian military,'' he told Reuters by telephone.
``They are very important for us because we need them when we put the Indonesian military in an international court for killings done in Aceh. So why should we kill them?''
London-based Amnesty International last week accused soldiers and police in Aceh of getting away with murder, torture and disappearances. But it also held the rebels partly responsible for killing soldiers and civilians who worked for the military.
Local journalists in Aceh say about 100 people, many of whom worked for the army, had been killed in the past 12 months.
``They were officially classified as being killed by unknown persons or in mysterious shootings,'' said one journalist, who declined to be named.
Sahputra said they were killed by ``guerrilla soldiers'' sent by Jakarta to wipe out evidence of past atrocities.
The journalist said while many of the killings were carried out by elements within the military, some were killed by rebels.
``I have to acknowledge that a very small number of informers were killed by Free Aceh in a spontaneous outburst of anger for the sufferings caused by them,'' said the journalist.
But he said Free Aceh had never embarked on a witch-hunt for informers because the rebels knew many civilians were forced to work for the military out of fear for their own lives.
Despite the end of military operations, a personal apology by President B.J. Habibie and his pledge to end the suffering in the province, the violence is getting worse, with armed battles between troops and rebels occuring almost daily.
At least 20 people have been killed in recent days, including 14 civilians blasted by grenades, rebels and human rights groups said on Monday.
The 14 were among 18 people killed on Saturday by soldiers who thought they were rebels, Legal Aid Institute official Yakob Hamzah said by telephone from the province on the northwest tip of Sumatra.
Two others were killed in separate incidents on Saturday and Thursday.
The violence has escalated since May when troops fired on hundreds of unarmed protesting civilians, killing 42 people. More than 200 people havedied since May.
On Friday, police announced a six-month operation to crush the rebels.
The government-appointed National Human Rights Commission has urged the government to talk with Free Aceh.
``We can open talks with the government on the status of Aceh or the holding of a referendum if they recognise us as a guerrilla liberation force and withdraw the military from Aceh,'' said spokesman Sahputra.
