Indonesia
11.12.00
Urgent Interventions
Indonesia: Attack/Extra-judicial killings
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
IDN 003 / 0012 / OBS 124
Attack/Extra-judicial killings
Indonesia
11th December 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Aceh, Indonesia.
Description of the situation
The Observatory was informed by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) that on Wednesday 6 December, three volunteer field workers and one patient from the Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh (RATA), Indonesia, were tortured and killed by Indonesian security forces. A fourth field worker was also tortured but managed to escape and has now gone into hiding. A fifth volunteer has also been threatened.
The four field workers were carrying out their normal duties of transporting torture victims from North Aceh to hospital for medical treatment, when their vehicle was stopped and surrounded by security forces in plain clothes. The five were taken to a military vehicle and badly tortured and the torture victim was shot dead. Three of the field workers were then lined up by the side of the road and shot in the head. The fourth, the only witness to the executions, managed to escape and is now in hiding in a local village in fear for his life.
RATA focuses on the rehabilitation of torture victims in Aceh and is supported by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and financed by the Danish Government. RATA was inaugurated by the Governor of Aceh and the Danish Ambassador to Indonesia in September 1999. Prior to this incident the centre had been accepted by all parties in Aceh as a neutral humanitarian organisation doing a much needed job; that is, tending to the many thousands of people who have been tortured during the ongoing civil unrest in the province. The centre has collaborated closely with local authorities, and had organised training activities for local police and military personnel on the nature of the activities and of the right, under international law, for torture victims to receive proper medical treatment and care.
These tragic events indicate a rapid deterioration in the security situation in Aceh. The slaying of health personnel and of hospital patients by security forces places in jeopardy the future of RATA and the safety of its personnel and clients.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Aceh, in particular the two field workers at immediate risk, as well as victims of torture at risk;
ii. order an immediate investigation into these extra-judicial killings in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9th of December 1998, by the U.N. General Assembly (“Declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms”), particularly, Article 12(2) which states that « The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present declaration. ».
iv. more generally abide by the Universal declaration on Human Rights and Covenants and international Conventions ratified by Indonesia.
Addresses
Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia, Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Istana Negara, Indonesia. Fax: 62-21- 345 7782
Mr. Marzuki Durusman, National Human Rights Commission, Kartika Chandra Office Tower, R. 201-202, Jl Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, 1206 Indonesia, Fax: 62-21-392 5227
Geneva - Paris, 11th December 2000
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line: Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39
E-mail observatoire@iprolink.ch
IDN 003 / 0012 / OBS 124
Attack/Extra-judicial killings
Indonesia
11th December 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Aceh, Indonesia.
Description of the situation
The Observatory was informed by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) that on Wednesday 6 December, three volunteer field workers and one patient from the Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh (RATA), Indonesia, were tortured and killed by Indonesian security forces. A fourth field worker was also tortured but managed to escape and has now gone into hiding. A fifth volunteer has also been threatened.
The four field workers were carrying out their normal duties of transporting torture victims from North Aceh to hospital for medical treatment, when their vehicle was stopped and surrounded by security forces in plain clothes. The five were taken to a military vehicle and badly tortured and the torture victim was shot dead. Three of the field workers were then lined up by the side of the road and shot in the head. The fourth, the only witness to the executions, managed to escape and is now in hiding in a local village in fear for his life.
RATA focuses on the rehabilitation of torture victims in Aceh and is supported by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and financed by the Danish Government. RATA was inaugurated by the Governor of Aceh and the Danish Ambassador to Indonesia in September 1999. Prior to this incident the centre had been accepted by all parties in Aceh as a neutral humanitarian organisation doing a much needed job; that is, tending to the many thousands of people who have been tortured during the ongoing civil unrest in the province. The centre has collaborated closely with local authorities, and had organised training activities for local police and military personnel on the nature of the activities and of the right, under international law, for torture victims to receive proper medical treatment and care.
These tragic events indicate a rapid deterioration in the security situation in Aceh. The slaying of health personnel and of hospital patients by security forces places in jeopardy the future of RATA and the safety of its personnel and clients.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Aceh, in particular the two field workers at immediate risk, as well as victims of torture at risk;
ii. order an immediate investigation into these extra-judicial killings in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9th of December 1998, by the U.N. General Assembly (“Declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms”), particularly, Article 12(2) which states that « The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present declaration. ».
iv. more generally abide by the Universal declaration on Human Rights and Covenants and international Conventions ratified by Indonesia.
Addresses
Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia, Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Istana Negara, Indonesia. Fax: 62-21- 345 7782
Mr. Marzuki Durusman, National Human Rights Commission, Kartika Chandra Office Tower, R. 201-202, Jl Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, 1206 Indonesia, Fax: 62-21-392 5227
Geneva - Paris, 11th December 2000
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line: Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39
E-mail observatoire@iprolink.ch