---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ and click banner our sponsor ---------------------------------------------------------- * Students hold vigil in memory of killings * Indonesian journalists visit Falintil in the bush * Court martial jails soldiers for torture * Timor Gap oil will belong to East Timor -------------------------------------------------------------- Students hold vigil in memory of killings ========================================= Agence France Presse - February 21, 199 Jakarta -- Scores of Indonesian students held a vigil at a university here Sunday to mark 100 days after the violent shooting of student demonstrators late last year. "This moral movement will become the basis for continued student actions in the streets to unveil the truth of the Semanggi tragedy," a student, Delfi, from Kertanegara University told some 150 students at Atma Jaya Catholic University in downtown South Jakarta. The Indonesian military opened fire on hundreds of protesting students on November 13 near the Semanggi traffic flyover and the adjacent Atma Jaya campus that left seven students dead. Fourteen more people were killed during the protest. The memorial event, sponsored by the Students for Reform and Democracy Forum (Famred), which unites students from dozens of Jakarta universities, was attended by some 50 pedicab drivers. "This is part of the political realization efforts for the public," Delfi said of the invitation to the drivers. "The efforts to unveil the Semanggi tragedy cannot wait for the political will of General Wiranto as the military commander," the student activist added. The demand for a more transparent investigation into the shooting was part of the student struggle "towards a more democratic Indonesia," Delfi said. On Saturday some 50 Famred students attempted to walk from the Gambir railway station in Central Jakarta in separate groups to the nearby military police headquarters but were blocked by soldiers and police. The military police, who are investigating the incident, have so far said they have been unable to identify who shot the students. The student movement in February of 1998 began campaigning for the exit of former president Suharto, who stepped down in May after 32 years in power. Since May, the students have pushed for Suharto to be brought to trial for his alleged crimes in office and for the military to give up its role in political life. Indonesian journalists visit Falintil in the bush ================================================= Suara Pembaruan - February 20, 1999 (slightly abbreviated) Che Guevara once said that a crucial problem for armed guerrillas was the ability to survive and keep a check on their bevahiour. This humane aspect of the guerrilla struggle is an integral part of the 23 year struggle of the Falintil guerrillas. With a handful of weapons and a small number of men, Falintil has been able to confront offensives by an army with the backing of land, sea and air forces and equipped with advanced weaponry. A major aspect of guerrilla warfare is support from the people. So how has Falintil been able to survive? Until now the Indonesian media and pro-Indonesia foreign journalists have depicted Falintil as "security disturbers" (GPK) -- the term used by the Indonesian military -- and not an armed movement struggling for freedom and independence. This is very one-sided and subjective. The fact is that no Indonesian journalist has ever reported their struggle in the bush. Suara Pembaruan therefore decided to visit Falintil. The negotiations were lengthy and complex but after spending a week in Dili, and with the help of the Timorese resistance council, the CNRT and Solidamor, our journalists received permission to proceed. Early one morning, we set out for Los Palos accompanied by a CNRT board member, a courier and others. After a five-hour journey by car, there was a one-hour walk to a village through thick jungle. We met many villagers along the way, guiding us and informing us of the security situation. These people, who support the guerrillas with food, medicine and carrying letters, knew all about the recent movements of the army. After another three-hour journey on foot, we reached our destination, not a regular Falintil base but a temporary position. There we met Tito da Costa, 49, deputy chief of staff, known by his nomme de guerre, Lere Anan Timor whose area of command includes Los Palos, Iliomar and Laga. He and his twelve-man had been in this location for two days. They had set up their tent on a steep, strategially-located hill, armed with M-16s and M-15s. There was a woman there too, to cook the food. They hardly looked as if they were fighting a war. They had plenty of food, a tape-recorder and a radio to listen to broadcasts from Portugal, Australia and the BBC as well as Indonesian broadcasts. They even had a very advanced satellite phone, enabling them to communicate with all parts of the world. No need to know where this equipment came from, but this is what enables them to keep contact with other Falintil units spread out across the country. All their clothes, footware, watches, everythingthey have has been taken from Indonesian soldiers who were killed or taken captive. Their weapons and ammunition are also almost all from the Indonesian army. As we got chatting, it was obvious that they were not the fierce people we had imagined. Their hair was long and their faces unshaven, but they were not physically intimidating. To describe them as inhuman is simply unfair. "We're just ordinary people, with our own fears. We want to be friends," said Lere, when asked why the Indonesian government calls them "disruptors". Most of them have been in the bush for many years, some for as long as 23 years and during all that time, they have never left the bush. They called us "comrades" and said that the Indonesian people were not their enemies. "All we want is freedom and independence," said Lere. Court martial jails soldiers for torture ======================================== Agence France Presse - February 22, 1999 Jakarta -- An Indonesian military court on Monday sentenced four soldiers to between 24 and 30 months jail for torturing civilian detainees in Aceh province, a report said. Lieutenant Colonel P.J. Piter, chief judge at the court martial in Banda Aceh, the Aceh capital, also ordered the four soldiers discharged from the armed forces, Antara news agency said. Prosecutors had sought a seven year jail term. But defendant Amsir was sentenced to two years jail while Manolam Situmorang was sentenced to 26 months, Manuhun Harahap to 28 months, and Effendi to 30 months. The panel of judges said the four were all guilty of torturing detainees. The defendants and other soldiers allegedly tortured about 40 villagers detained at a building belonging to a youth organization in Lhokseumawe, 300 kilometers east of Banda Aceh last month. Five of the detainees died and 19 others were hospitalized with serious injuries. The judges said the defendants would be thrown out of the army because their behavior had damaged the image and integrity of the forces. The military tribunal has already sentenced Major Bayu Najib, a former battalion commander and the soldiers' superior, to six and a half years prison over the killings. He was also dismissed from the army. Reports said the military would court martial 23 more soldiers over the same case. The civilian detainees were arrested during army raids to hunt the alleged leader of a separatist group suspected of holding two soldiers as hostages. The raids followed the killing of seven soldiers and the abduction of two military officers in late December in Aceh. The Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) movement has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in the province Aceh since the mid- 1970s. Timor Gap oil will belong to East Timor ======================================= Lusa - February 21, 1999 Jakarta -- Indonesia's minister of economy, industry and finance has clarified Jakarta's position on the Timor Gap, a potentially oil-rich offshore region, saying that "if East Timor chooses to separate from Indonesia, then the Gap region will automatically belong to East Timor". Ginandjar Kartasasmita was cited Thursday by the Antara news agency. He said that the controversial Timor Gap Treaty would be on the agenda of an upcoming ministers meeting between Australia and Indonesia, to be held from Feb. 23 to 25 in Bali. Kartasasmita added, however, that the upcoming meeting would only focus on technical details of the current treaty, under which Ausralia and Indonesia agree to jointly exploit the underwater resources of the Timor Sea between the half-island of East Timor and northern Australia. Meanwhile, Indonesian Mines and Energy Minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto confirmed Thursday that Indonesia continues to invest in oil prospecting in the Timor Gap. East Timor has been occupied by Indonesia since 1975, though Jakarta now says it will withdraw from the territory if the East Timorese reject a proposal for enhanced autonomy. ********************************************************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 24 Feb 1999 jam 03:27:43 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
