Nani Afrida and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Banda Aceh – While peace finally has descended upon Aceh, past wounds have yet to heal. A hundred people, claiming to be victims of past rights abuses in the province, demonstrated here Thursday urging the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) and the Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) to resolve their cases.
Claiming to represent thousands of people across the province, the mostly middle-aged women demonstrators said the peace that was flowering would never fully bloom until there was full accountability for past abuses.
"AMM should not leave Aceh... there are still numerous unsolved problems," said Rukaya, who claimed her husband and two children were killed by security personnel in 2003.
"Thousands of victims are still awaiting justice. The military personnel who perpetrated the abuses and the generals responsible have yet to be brought to justice," she said.
The protest was held as the AMM officially concluded its 15-month mission Thursday.
However, Banta Khalidansyah, a former rebel leader in West Aceh, urged the AMM to extend its mandate to resolve past rights cases. "We no longer believe Indonesia will respond to our grievances. Please stay and declare your commitment to helping Acehnese reveal the truth," he said.
Hendra Budian, coordinator of the Aceh Judicial Monitoring Institute (AJMI), regretted the AMM's departure, saying that as a body representing pro-human rights states it should show more concern for the issue.
After meeting behind closed doors with AMM officers, the demonstrators left the mission's office to continue their protest at the Aceh Reintegration Agency office.
AMM chairman Peter Feith said the mission could only work within its mandate. "Human rights violations which happened before Aug. 15, 2005, the date the MOU was signed, will be handled under Indonesian law," he said. The MOU he referred to was the Helsinki peace agreement signed by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which paved the way for the AMM to enter the province.
"Providing support for political prisoners and conflict victims is a long-term scheme which is expected to be completed by the end of 2007. The long-term program will be carried out by the European Commission and other donor countries and the AMM will no longer be in charge of this," he said.
Feith underlined the importance of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). "I continue to make contact with relevant ministers in Jakarta and ask them to speed up the TRC's establishment."
Asked about the possibility of violence flaring up after the mission's departure, Feith said any problems would be managed by the Indonesian government in cooperation with the European Commission.
Feith also expressed hope that the winner of the just-concluded election in Aceh and officials in Jakarta could ensure the peace in the province continued. "A new era will come to Aceh with the establishment of a new administration to maintain peace," he said.
Separately, former GAM spokesman Irwandi Yusuf – who is expected to be confirmed as the winner of the gubernatorial election – was asked to comment on the demands for a resolution of past rights abuses. He vowed to coordinate with the central government in pushing for reconciliation, despite the fact the law on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was recently annulled by the Constitutional Court.
"We will consider establishing a commission under the Aceh administration, but it will be set up in close coordination with Jakarta since the majority of those allegedly involved in human rights abuses are security personnel," he told The Jakarta Post.
The Constitutional Court recently struck down the 2004 law on the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to settle all unresolved human rights abuses in the country. The decision has sparked outrage among rights abuse victims and activists.