Tim Johnston, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian army has been accused of using British-built Hawk aircraft to attack separatist rebels in the province of Aceh. That would contravene an agreement between Jakarta and London that the aircraft would not be used for suppression of internal dissent.

A member of the Free Aceh Movement, which is known as GAM, said that two of the aircraft had been used in an attack on villages near the town of Lhokseumawe yesterday morning. "I saw two Hawks flying and shooting rockets and dropping bombs," said Syukri Ibrahim, who is based in the area. "They say they were attacking GAM, but there are no GAM positions there and we are afraid they might have hit civilians," he said. He could not say whether there had been any casualties.

Spokesmen for the Indonesian army, known as TNI, gave conflicting information. One denied there had been any air attacks; another said what he called "sonic bombs" intended to demoralise the enemy, were dropped in the villages of Sawang and Nissam. An army spokesman in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, declined to confirm or deny the use of the Hawks, but said it would not in principle present a problem. "TNI will use the planes to protect the sovereignty of Aceh," Colonel Ditya Judarsono said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that the aircraft had been sold to Indonesia on the understanding that they would not be used against their own people. "Senior members of the Indonesian Government have repeatedly stated that UK-supplied military equipment would not be used offensively or in violation of human rights anywhere in Indonesia," a spokesman said.

The Indonesian army began an assault on the rebels last week and there have already been accusations of human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings, torture and illegal detention.

In 1999, the sale of the Hawks was suspended by Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary at the time, because of concerns over the Indonesian Army's behaviour in East Timor. The Foreign Office said yesterday that the British Ambassador, Richard Gozney, had spoken to the Indonesian authorities on May 20, the day after martial law was declared in Aceh. The Indonesian Ministry of Defence had confirmed that the assurances over the use of British-supplied equipment "remained valid".

The chief spokesman for the Indonesian Army, General Sjafrie Syamsoeddin, saw no problem with the use of the aircraft. "For us we have already paid, so there is no problem," he said. "We use fighters to defend our sovereignty and against a sovereign target."

Indonesia has been trying to crush the separatist movement in Aceh for decades. Human rights organisations say that 12,000 people, most of them civilian victims of the army, have died in the fighting.

Military sales:

• A deal to sell 16 Hawk jets (worth 160 Pounds million) and 50 Scorpion armoured vehicles (worth 100 Pounds million) that was approved by the Conservative government, has been honoured by Labour.
• Pre-1997 contracts also honoured include a deal for seven tactical water cannons and more than 300 armoured vehicles.
• Sales including armoured vehicles equipped with machine guns, military communications, Rapier missiles and Sea Wolf launchers, parts for jet components and electronics.