319 CIVILIANS KILLED IN INDONESIA'S TROUBLED ACEH

September 5, 2003 – (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) As many as 319 civilians have been killed in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh, with 108 others listed as missing since an all-out military offensive was launched on May 19 aimed at crushing the 27-year-long rebellion, police officials said Friday.

Senior Adjunct Commissioner Sayed Hoesaini, spokesman of Aceh's police, blamed the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) of being responsible for the killing of civilians.

"Most of the civilian casualties were due to GAM's cruelty. They (GAM) have killed most of them. While some others have died because of stray bullets or other reasons," Hoesaini said.

He said the highest civilian casualties came from North Aceh district, where as many as 110 civilians have died, followed by East Aceh with 70 fatalities and South Aceh with 45 casualties.

In addition to the 108 civilians listed as "missing" there were another 117 others wounded since the martial law was imposed in Aceh on May 19.

Hoesaini also accused GAM of being behind the missing persons, saying the rebels had kidnapped them, including two Indonesian journalists working with RCTI Television.

Government troops claim they have killed up to 816 separatist rebels in Aceh in the first 108 days of the all-out offensive to crush the insurgency in the province.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Yani Basuki, spokesman of the Aceh's military operation said during the same period, some 46 army soldiers and 15 police officers were killed.

After 108 days of fighting in Aceh, the government forces had also captured 607 separatist rebels and 466 rebel sympathizers had surrendered, Basuki said.
Human rights groups have heard reports of widespread human rights abuses in Aceh during the massive military operations, including torture and rape, a claim strongly denied by military leaders in the province.

Military authorities have imposed restriction on journalists and non-governmental organizations working in Aceh, making independent verification on the death toll and alleged human rights violations difficult.

In Jakarta, government authorities said there was no plan to reduce the military strength in Aceh, hinting that the massive operation would continue for as long as needed to secure the province.

"Instead we will maintain the momentum that has been achieved and escalate the operation to get satisfactory results," said Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the coordinating minister for political and security affairs.

More than 40,000 military and police personnel are now in Aceh fighting GAM's guerrilla forces that were originally estimated at 5,000 strong, of whom some 3,000 were armed.

However, entering the fourth month of the operation, the military authorities have still failed to capture or kill any senior separatist leaders.

GAM has been fighting for an independent state in the resource-rich Aceh province since 1976. More than 11,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed from a direct conflict between government troops and the rebels since then.