ASIET news updates - December 4, 1998 ===================================== * Student investigation team forced to return to Dili - Tapol * Election dates are set - Dow Jones * Mobil Oil must be held accountable for violations * Mobil Oil 'knows nothing' of rights abuses in Aceh - Jakarta Post ------------------------------------------------------------ Student investigation team forced to return to Dili =================================================== Tapol - December 3, 1998 A team of students which planned to visit Alas to conduct investigations into the human rights violations there was forced to return to Dili after being subjected to intimidatory actions by troops in Same to the north west of Alas. A separate team composed of members of Kontras, the Commission for the Missing and Victims of Violence, was also turned back in Same after being refused permission to continue their journey to Alas. The students travelled to Same on 1 December together with representatives from the CNRT office in Dili, following an agreement reached last week with the authorities in Dili allowing them to form a joint team to investigate conditions in Alas. On the way to Same, the group was repeatedly subjected to security checks. After reaching Same, troops in the vicinity started shooting in the air, making it clear that their presence was not welcome. In a press release issued in Dili on 3 December, the students said they deeply regretted that their plan to send a mission to Alas had failed. They were now seeking an explanation from the governor in Dili who had originally given approval for the mission to go ahead. It appears that the only agency being allowed access to areas in which abuses have been reported is the International Red Cross. As is widely recognised, the ICRC is always very cautious about reporting its findings which are rarely made public anyway, for fear of upsetting the authorities. In the meanwhile, TAPOL has been informed from Dili that a similar situation to that which has prevailed in Alas has now developed in Cailaco, a sub-district in Maliana district. The area has been sealed off by the military following the death of two Indonesian soldiers in the area last week. Kontras made a request to be allowed to visit Cailaco but was refused permission. A group of forty people, mostly youths, have fled from Cailaco to Dili, fearing for their safety and are now under the protection of Kontras. >From the same source, TAPOL has been informed that a catechist was shot dead on 2 December in Uatolari, near Viqueque, while he was giving instructions. Efforts are being made to obtain information about the man's identity. The general situation throughout the territory is described as being extremely tense with local troops apparently free to do what they like with the population. Election dates are set ====================== Dow Jones Newswires - December 3, 1998 (abridged) Jakarta -- Indonesia will hold parliamentary elections on June 7 and elect a new president on Aug. 29, speaker of the house of parliament Harmoko said Thursday. His statement follows a meeting between President B.J. Habibie, senior Cabinet ministers and legislative leaders at Parliament to discuss plans for the elections next year. Originally, presidential elections had been set for December 1999, and parliamentary elections for next May. The announcement of the election dates came amid widespread suspicion among student protesters that Mr. Habibie would delay the elections and stall other democratic reforms. Yet many students are unlikely to be satisfied with the election timetable. They have demanded the immediate resignation of Mr. Habibie, who took office from Mr. Suharto in May after riots and protests against his 32-year authoritarian rule. Protesters say Mr. Habibie, who has urged students to halt their near-daily street rallies, is a stooge of his former mentor. The nation's highest legislative body will elect a new president on Aug. 29, Mr. Harmoko said. However, the 1,000-member People's Consultative Assembly is beset with controversy. It is full of holdovers from the Suharto era and critics say it doesn't have the credibility to choose a new leader for the nation of 202 million people. The assembly, which consists of all 500 members of Parliament as well as presidential appointees, met last month to plan the election and approve other political reforms. "The president will consistently and effectively implement the decrees of the recent (assembly) meeting," Mr. Harmoko said. Students step up pressure for Suharto trial =========================================== Agence France Presse - December 2, 1998 Jakarta -- Thousands of Indonesian students took to the streets here again Wednesday, and managed for the first time to breach presidential palace security and directly demand that fallen strongman Suharto be brought to trial. The breakthrough came when some 1,000 students, who had earlier protested at the attorney general's office to demand Suharto be punished for his alleged plunder of the country, caught the outer ring of the palace security apparently unaware. The students, from the elite Trisakti University, in a convoy of some 16 buses, came unexpectedly from a side street and forced a thin cordon of soldiers to give way. The troops moved armored trucks and barbed wire barricades blocking the road to the Merdeka palace. Suharto's successor and protege, President B.J. Habibie, who only hours earlier had appealed to the students to quit the streets, was inside the presidential office adjoining the stately white- columned Merdeka palace at the time, witnesses said. He did not appear, or offer to meet with the students. But palace security allowed 17 student representatives to meet for 90 minutes with a team of his aides in the office of military secretary Vice Marshal Budhy Santoso. At the meeting with three senior palace officials -- the deputy cabinet secretary, the commander of the presidential guard, and Santoso -- the students demanded Suharto be taken to court within three days, palace sources and the state Antara news agency said. The students also demanded armed forces chief General Wiranto be held accountable for recent military violence against students and that probes be conducted into a recent series of riots. Meanwhile, another convoy of 23 banner-festooned buses carrying some 1,000 students came within 200 metres (yards) of the national parliament. A law on the public expression of opinion passed by parliament in October banned demonstrations within a radius of 500 metres (1,670 feet) from several "strategic buildings," including both the palace and parliament. The convoy travelled against a one-way sign to close in but was blocked by a thin line of police and soldiers, whose numbers were rapidly reinforced to some 300. The students scuffled briefly with the troops and a rain of stones and sticks were thrown at the soldiers, who only managed to push them back a few metres. "Reject the 1998 special session of the MPR (the People's Consultative Assembly)," read a large banner carried by the protestors, referring to a legislative assembly they regard as a hang-over of the Suharto era. They continued to press for Habibie to hand over power to a transitional authority. Another group of some 120 students, also riding on buses, protested briefly at a heavily guarded park in central Jakarta, a short distance from Suharto's residence, before joining the group near parliament. A separate group of hundreds rallied at a busy downtown roundabout watched by some 200 police and soldiers and cheered by onlookers and passing car drivers. "Habibie is a coward. Keep it up or Suharto will never really be gone," yelled one passing taxi driver. Earlier Wednesday, at the office of Attorney General Andi Ghalib, the Trisakti students carried posters reading: "Drag Suharto to court," "Hang Suharto," and "Prove you are not a chicken, Ghalib!" Ghalib was presented with a chicken last week by the Trisakti students, who along with hundreds of others from different universities had managed to occupy the attorney general's office for more than 12 hours. The attorney general's office has so far found 21 billion rupiah (2.6 million dollars) of Suharto's money in 72 local banks. The investigation into any accounts abroad, which the former president says are non-existent, is still underway. The attorney general heads a government team tasked to probe the wealth of Suharto and his officials, but critics accuse him of deliberately stalling the investigation, and Habibie of protecting his former mentor. Documents on millions of hectares (acres) of rainforests, timber concessions, plantations and mines owned by Suharto and his family have been reported by the National Land Agency and officials in provinces across the country, but no legal action against the ousted leader has been taken. Mobil Oil must be held accountable for violations ================================================= Down To Earth - Posted November 3, 1998 [The following is a translation of press release issued on October 10, 1998, by a number of Indonesian NGOS with regard to Mobil oil's activities in Aceh. For reasons of space, the full list of signatories was not included - James Balowski.] Mobil Oil Indonesia is a joint venture between Mobil Oil Incorporation (USA) and Pertamina (Indonesian state oil company). The contract was signed on 6.12.65 and the company's operational area is in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, in the Province of Aceh (Daerah Istimewa Aceh). Mobil Oil carries out exploration and exploitation of gas and oil which is later channelled to PT Arun for production. Mobil Oil also owns shares in PT Arun, though only a small percentage. Mobil Oil and PT Arun operations have long been disputed, both by the local people as well as by environmental activists. Mobil Oil has been taken to court by local people, although the local people lost the case. Mobil Oil's activities in Lhokseumawe have been disputed by the local people both because of the pollution of the environment and the negligible contribution that the company has made to the local economy. The company's activities, which lead to the production of LNG, Condensate, Gas, LPG/Propane, LPG/Butane, benefit itself and central government much more than the local economy. Moreover, the Mobil grounds were once the property of local people, who were forced off their land with only minimal compensation. Also, a number of incidents have occurred to the detriment of the local people, such as in 1983 when Mobil Oil's Cluster 1 discharge flooded and contaminated local padi fields and shrimp farms. Similar incidents have occurred on a number of occasions, but the local people have had no means by which to seek redress. At one point, the people of Pu'uk village whose land was contaminated in 1992 took the company to court in Lhok Sukan, but they lost their case. In another incident in 1990, a leak from GIW 12, known as OBS III polluted the padi, orchards and other land in the village of Tanjung Krueng Pase. Another incident which was of concern to the local people was the explosion of an oil well in 1979, which was located in Cluster II. AS a result of the explosion, the inhabitants of Nibong Baroh village who lived next to the well had to move to another area for a period of six months. Such incidents were never addressed by Mobil Oil, and moreover the impression given by the company is that they just ignore problems until the local people give up. The fact that local have for some time been somewhat reticent in raising issues concerning Mobil Oil and its activities is directly related to the strength of the military's support of the company. Moreover, two military barracks in the area were built for the military by Mobil and Arun. These are known as Post 13 and Camp Rancong. The recent revelation of the numerous human rights abuses in Aceh have encouraged local people to come forwards and given voice to their suffering. The data has now begun to be collated and up until 25.8.98, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) had already gathered evidence of the death of 781 people at the hands of the military, 163 disappearances, 368 cases of torture and have come across at least 3,000 cases of women widowed because their husbands have been killed or disappeared. The number of children orphaned as a direct result of military activity has been estimated by them as being between 15,00 to 20,000. The data given above continues to increase, as well as the numerous harrowing accounts. Of all the victims of human rights violations in Aceh, the largest number have been perpetrated in North Aceh, and very many victims or witnesses have stated that these human rights violations have been perpetrated by Kopassus units (Indonesian special forces) which were based at Camp Rancong which is owned by PT Arun. There are also some who have said that they had been interrogated in Post 13, which is facilitated by Mobil Oil. Based on the above, NGOs in Sumatra together with WALHI (Indonesian Friends of the Earth) issue the following press release: Mobil and Arun are the largest oil and gas companies in Indonesia and should therefore be of benefit to the people of Aceh local to their area of operation. However, it is in fact the case that these companies have brought misfortune to the people of Aceh, not only because the detrimental impact of their presence has never been seriously addressed, but moreover because of their implication in human rights abuses which have caused the suffering of the people of Aceh. The implication of these two companies in human rights violations is in the form of their involvement with military operations in Aceh. These can be documented as follows: 1. Mobil Oil provided specific facilities in the shape of building and contents for military Post 13. Information gathered from victims of human rights abuses indicated that a number of them were interrogated in Post 13 before being moved to other locations. 2. Mobil Oil provided heavy equipment such as escavators in order that the military could dig mass graves for its victims at Sentang Hill and Tengkorak (Skull) Hill. 3. Mobil Oil road was used in order to transport the victims of human rights violations in order to be buried on 'Skull' Hill. 4. Mobil Oil did not take issue with nor take responsibility for the number of its own employee who were kidnapped and disappeared by the military when at work. 5. PT Arun, some shares of which are owned by Mobil Oil, built Camp Rancong which was used by Kopassus in order to torture and murder victims of human rights abuses. Because of the evidence above, we make the following demands: 1. That the United States Government take firm action against Mobil Oil in order to uphold human rights. 2. Mobil Oil and Arun must be made accountable to the people of Aceh. They should apologise to the international community, the people of Indonesia and the people of Aceh in particular. The should offer just compensation and rehabilitation to the victims of human rights abuses, as perpetrated by the military and with the support of both Mobil Oil and Arun. 3. That Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch Asia should carry out their own investigation into the financial affairs of Mobil Oil, particularly in respect of their relationship with the military and its operations. 4. Urge oil and gas-consuming countries to boycott oil and gas products of both these companies should Mobil Oil and Arun shirk from their responsibilities. Mobil Oil 'knows nothing' of rights abuses in Aceh ================================================== Jakarta Post - November 11, 1998 (excerpts) Jakarta -- The management of an American-based oil company denied on Tuesday that it should share the blame for human rights abuses in Aceh, the country's northern-most province. Chief executive officer of Mobil Oil Corp., L.A. Noto, was responding to allegations by a coalition of 11 non-governmental organisations in Sumatra that military members interrogated and tortured people at some of the firm's facilities in Aceh... Although it regretted the abuses, Noto argued that the management did not know for what purposes its facilities were used. "From time to time, both state authorities and military authorities have asked us to use some construction equipment, for roads and things like that," Noto said after meeting President B.J. Habibie at the State Palace. "And generally speaking, we have tried to accommodate these requests. "Beyond that, frankly, we do not have other knowledge. And ... if anything happened because somebody used the equipment in a wrong way, I am very sorry for that, but (there is) no control over that."... Noto said he had no knowledge of missing employees. ********************************************************** Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) PO Box 458, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Phone: 61-(0)2-96901230 Fax : 61-(0)2-96901381 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW : http://www.peg.apc.org/~asiet/ Free Xanana Gusmao, Budiman Sujatmiko and Dita Sari! 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