Human rights 20/03/06 Aceh remembrance festival marks military atrocities - Indonesian civil groups kick off events to honor those who died, suffered in crackdown

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Aceh remembrance festival marks military atrocities

Indonesian civil groups kick off events to honor those who died, suffered in crackdown against separatists

Civil groups in Indonesia’s Aceh province have launched a series of activities to remember human rights abuses during a 1989-98 military crackdown against separatist rebels. They kicked off events on March 3 with a vigil at the Rumoh Geudong Monument in Pidie district. (Photo courtesy of PASKA Aceh)

Konradus Epa, Jakarta
Indonesia
March 6, 2020

Civil groups have launched a series of activities to remember victims of atrocities committed in Indonesia’s Aceh province during a decade-long military crackdown on separatist guerrillas. The activities are being held to mark International Day for the Right to Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, which falls on March 24. The groups, including the Aceh Society’s Socio-Economic Development Institution (PASKA Aceh) and the Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), kicked off the 22-day program on March 3 with a vigil in the compound of the Rumoh Geudong Monument in the village of Bili Aron in Pidie district. The monument was officially dedicated on July 12, 2018, in honor of those who fell victim to rights abuses.  From 1989 until 1998, the province was declared a military operations area, with Rumoh Geudong being used as a military base where extrajudicial killings and acts of torture were allegedly carried out against anyone suspected of having links to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Aceh has since become a  semi-autonomous province and the only one in Indonesia where Sharia law is implemented. A parliamentary fact-finding team at the time recorded 6,837 cases of human rights violations during that period. The National Commission on Human Rights reported that at least 781 people were killed, 163 others were disappeared and 102 women were raped. “The program is being held for more than three weeks to give people plenty of opportunities to remember those who suffered and lost family members,” AJAR director Galuh Wandita told UCA News. She said activities include video screenings, lectures and photo exhibitions showing the resilience of survivors, culminating in a prayer gathering at the Rumoh Geudong Monument. She said the monument is a silent witness to past atrocities in Aceh.  “This site of torture has transformed to become a place where people can remember and learn about human rights and the cost of impunity. We remember as way to ignite hope for justice and work with survivors to rebuild their lives,” she said, urging the government to bring justice for the victims. PASKA Aceh director Farida Haryani said civil groups have been conducting remembrance activities annually since 2017. “We must recognize the sacrifice the survivors made,” she said, adding that the Rumoh Geudong Monument has become “a symbol of crimes against humanity” that took place during the military crackdown.