Daniel Cooney, Jakarta – The soldiers who killed a peace-advocating separatist leader were "heroes." Two Germans shot by troops were "stupid" for vacationing in a strife-torn part of the country.
The comments by Indonesia's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu have thrown the spotlight on the tough-talking presidential loyalist who some tip to become military chief.
The remarks have also raised questions about the message military commanders are sending to their troops about human rights amid fears that military reforms have stalled five years after the downfall of a military-backed dictatorship.
"There is a total atmosphere of impunity where soldiers think they can get away with murder, because effectively they can," said New York-based Human Rights Watch researcher Charmain Mohamed.
The military, looking to have a US-ban on military sales lifted, insists its human rights record is improving. It has established rights classes for officer-cadets and printed handbooks for them, listing rights regulations and the Geneva Convention. "We respect human rights and things are getting better," military spokesman Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman said.
But critics say the military's latest campaign in rebellious Aceh province where soldiers, as well as rebels, have been accused of extra-judicial killings and other abuses has shown little has changed.
Villagers have told The Associated Press that troops have shot to death dozens of civilians, including children, since the new offensive began May 19. Men wearing police uniforms have sexually abused women in remote villages, according to the National Human Rights Commission.
When members of the state-sponsored body said last month that they had received reports of a mass grave, army chief Ryacudu said: "Ask them to come here. I will knock their heads off." Also last month, soldiers shot two Germans, killing one and wounding the other, who were camping on a beach in Aceh. Troops opened fire after the two did not respond to calls to identify themselves, Ryacudu said, before adding that he thought the couple were "dumb and stupid" for camping in the region.
After a string of media reports of alleged military atrocities in Aceh, authorities restricted reporters from visiting the region. Contact with the rebels has been outlawed.
"I don't think any Indonesian military campaign will ever have [the] effect of winning hearts and minds in Aceh," said a visiting senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They hate the military there." The armed forces are also not popular in Papua, a province on the eastern tip of sprawling Indonesia, which is home to a small group of separatists, armed mainly with bows and arrows and spears.
Seven special forces soldiers were found guilty in the 2001 killing of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay, who advocated a peaceful secessionist struggle. They were sentenced to between two and three years in prison after Ryacudu described them as "heroes." Military involvement is also suspected in the killings of two US teachers and an Indonesian colleague last August in Papua, according to a police investigation. No one has been charged.
US military relations with Jakarta were suspended in 1999 after Indonesian troops and their militia proxies killed hundreds of people and destroyed much of East Timor after it voted to secede from Jakarta in a UN-sponsored referendum. Washington has said ties won't be restored until the military shows a greater respect for human rights.
Requests to interview Ryacudu, who commands 230,000 troops, were declined. The 53-year old has served in military posts across Indonesia, including in East Timor. Military observers describe him as a loyalist of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and tipped him as a serious contender as the next military chief.
One of his most recent high-profile acts was in 2001 when, as commander of the army's elite strategic reserve, he ordered 2,000 troops and tanks to assemble in a downtown Jakarta park next to the presidential palace during a standoff between then-President Abdurrahman Wahid and the legislature.
The military supported the parliament, which a day later ousted the president. With loaded guns aimed at the palace, Ryacudu leaned against one of the tanks and told the AP at the time that the deployment was a routine exercise and not meant to intimidate the president.