Jakarta – On Monday morning, February 23, four non-government organisation (NGO) activists who have publicly rejected the military operation in Aceh continuing during the 2004 general elections, were arrested by a special unit of the Mobile Brigade (Brimob). As of Tuesday February 24, the whereabouts of the four activists remains unclear.
When contacted by Kompas on Tuesday, the head of the information department of the Aceh emergency military command (PDMD), Colonel Ditya Soedarsono, admitted that the four activists are being questioned by the PDMD in Lhokseumawe because it is believed that they are members of or at least sympathisers of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
In Jakarta, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Aceh Papua Solidarity (Solidaritas Aceh Papua, SAP), the Mardhika Women’s Working Group (Kelompok Kerja Perempuan Mardhika, KKPM) and the Women’s Organisation for a Democratic Aceh (Organisasi Perempuan Aceh Demokratik, Orpad) held a press conference at the Kontras office on Tuesday.
The general chairperson of Orpad, Raihana Diani, strongly suspects that the disappearance of her three colleagues – Nova Rahayu (Nova), Nursida (Ida) and Harlina (Lina) – is linked to a recent statement she made which was carried by the print media. On Tuesday February 17, Raihana revealed that on a number of occasions her organisation had witnessed card holders of the Democratic Party getting preferential treatment from security personnel (Kompas February 19). Raihana’s charges had earlier been disputed by Soedarsono. The deputy general secretary of the Democratic Party, Max Sopacua, said at the time that there is no party policy on this matter.
Nova and Ida are both economics graduates from the University of Syah Kuala while Ratna is currently studying at the same university.
The coordinator of Kontras’ working body, Mufti Makarim, said that this kind of pattern of arrests which has begun again, should be viewed as an effective method to stifle the political freedoms of the Acehnese people. Representing KKPM, Dita Indah Sari urged the security forces to immediately release the activists.
Sudarsono has admitted that the four NGO activists are currently being questioned by the PDMD in Lhokseumawe. “They are not being questioned because they are NGO activists, but because there are indications that the are involved with GAM or at the very least are GAM sympathisers”, said Sudarsono. (WIN)
[Translated by James Balowski.]
