Jakarta – A catalogue of killings, torture and rape in the Indonesian province of Aceh was outlined to parliament Wednesday as an independent inquiry said it had found 5,000 cases of rights abuses.
The abuses fell under six categories of crimes against humanity, said Amran Zamzami, chairman of an independent commission set up to investigate human rights violations in Aceh, quoted by the official Antara news agency.
They included summary executions, torture, abductions, arbitrary detention and killing, wilful destruction of private property, rape and sexual violence, he told a parliamentary committee on Aceh.
Investigations in the field by his commission had led to the discovery of more than 5,000 cases of human rights abuses during a decade of anti-rebel military operations in the province, he added.
In a report published earlier the commission accused top generals of orchestrating "war crimes" against the people of Aceh and called for them to be brought to justice. The most blatant violations occurred in the districts of North Aceh, East Aceh and Pidie, Zamzami told the parliamentary committee.
One involved a soldier's rape of a woman named Sumiati, a resident of Trieng Gadeng village, who became pregnant and had a baby. The rapist was tracked down by the commission and confessed but refused to accept responsibility.
In another instance a group of civilians were abducted and tortured, some of them emerging from their ordeal maimed for life, Zamzami said.
"The cases were reported to the government and no follow up actions have so far been taken. But human rights violations do not expire," said attorney general Marzuki Darusman, who is also chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
He said violations were committed by both troops and civilians and all must be investigated properly.
"Under international law these are grave offences and culpability in these cases does not expire with time," said Major General Syamsuddin, a Komnas Ham member.
Similar abuses had occurred in other parts of Indonesia such as Irian Jaya and East Timor but the crimes in Aceh needed to be investigated immediately and brought before the courts, Syamsuddin said.