Nurdin Hasan – Two prominent rights groups in Aceh on Wednesday called for police to end their military-like operations against an armed group allegedly linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terrorist network.
The Aceh chapter of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Pidie district chapter of the Center for Human Rights Assistance (PB HAM) issued the statement after a civilian was killed during a police operation in Padang Tiji, Pidie, early on Wednesday.
A civilian was also killed on Feb. 23 during a police raid on an alleged combat-training area for an armed group of militants in the Jalin mountains in Aceh Besar district.
"The police shouldn't repeat the militaristic approach. Their operations are now widening and more residents are getting killed," Hendra Fadli, the Aceh Kontras coordinator, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Whatever the security threat, police should continue to abide by the rules and regulations, including one issued by the National Police chief last year regarding the implementation of the principle and standards of human rights and another on the use of force in police actions.
"This will prevent the police operations from leading to human rights violations and from upsetting the Acehnese people," he said.
Heri Saputra, the Pidie PB Ham coordinator, said the police had adopted the same military approaches used during the conflict between government forces and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
The government and the exiled leadership of the GAM ended almost three decades of armed conflict with a peace pact signed in August 2005, which saw the separatists drop their claims for independence in return for broad autonomy. GAM has since disbanded and its members have been absorbed into Acehnese society.
"Civilian victims and widening sweep operations are clearly similar to the military's approach during the period of conflict," Heri said.
He said the situation would only worsen if the operations are accompanied by the establishment of police paramilitary outposts.
"This approach is certainly inappropriate to pursue just 50 criminals who form a movement that is not massive and does not have the political or ideological support from the majority of Acehnese," he said.
Both rights groups called on the police to minimize their militaristic approach and instead focus on detection and closer cooperation with the public.
Hendra said police have already shown that they were capable of eradicating illegal weapons in the post-peace pact era in Aceh.
The role of the public in helping police efforts could not be underestimated, he added. "The police should therefore act in a limited and measured way," Hendra said.
He also called on the governor of the province and the provincial legislature to evaluate the police's recent militaristic approach so the peace in Aceh would not be jeopardized.
The two groups said the government and the political authorities in Aceh had so far appeared passive and insensitive to security developments in the province.