May 26, 2004 – (Joyo Indonesia News) An advocacy group pleaded Wednesday for the release of dozens of women it said were arrested by government forces and falsely accused of treason in the war-torn province of Aceh.

The non-government Information Center for a Referendum in Aceh, or SIRA, said 32 women have been charged with being part of "The Widows' Battalion" associated with the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

Their "guilt of even being involved in any political activity is very much doubt," SIRA said in a statement. "For the sake of humanity and justice, these women should be released."

"No proof whatsoever has been provided for this accusation. They are just victims of the military." A spokesman for the military, Col. Ahmad Yani, said the women are members of the separatist group.

"We take great care whenever we arrest someone," Yani said. "We have proof that they are involved in the secessionist movement."

A year ago, Indonesia launched an offensive against the rebels and imposed martial law that allowed security forces to arbitrarily arrest suspects.

Last week, the government downgraded the martial law in Aceh province to a state of emergency, but the new rules still allow the military to impose curfews, set up blockades and detain suspects indefinitely.

More than 2,000 people have died in the fighting since May 2003 and thousands more have been detained for alleged links to the separatist movement. Many of them, including juveniles, have been held for months without trial on charges of being rebel sympathizers.

Human rights groups say most of the dead have been villagers caught up in army raids in remote villages. They also accuse the government of torturing detainees into confessing and holding brief show trials that result in multiyear prison sentences.

Rebels have been fighting since 1976 for an independent homeland in the oil- and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra.

SIRA advocates holding a referendum on possible independence for the region of four million people. Jakarta has refused this, fearing a repeat of the secession of East Timor, which broke away in 1999 after four-fifths of the electorate opted for independence in a U.N.-organized plebiscite.

From: http://tapol.gn.apc.org