Senators call for UN Special Rep. on Aceh/Papua
United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
June 28, 2004
Honorable Kofi Annan
Secretary General
United Nations
New York, New York 10017
Dear Mr. Secretary General:
We are writing to urge you to appoint a United Nations Special
Representative to Indonesia to monitor and report on the situations in
Aceh and Papua. This Special Representative would also make
recommendations regarding steps the UN Security Council and General
Assembly might undertake to end the troubling and deadly conflicts that
continue to engulf these regions.
In Aceh, the year-long period of martial law that ended in May with the
imposition of a "civil emergency" has had an extraordinary human cost.
While it is impossible to verify the precise number of extra-judicial
incarcerations and killings, accounts suggest that more than 2000 people
have been killed in the past year, the majority of whom have been
civilians. Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights' (Komnas HAM)
ad-hoc team for Aceh recently reported on the "attacks against unarmed
civilians, including victims who were murdered, tortured, sexually abused
or raped, or others who the court had not yet proved were rebels." The
report also cited kidnapping, child abuse, arson, and robbery. The Komnas
HAM team alleged that most violations were committed by the Indonesian
security forces, including both high level political and military
authorities, though some deaths have been attributed to the rebel Free
Aceh Movement. The conflict has also generated massive refugee flows
across international borders, with thousands of others displaced
internally. Although martial law has formally ended, the massive troop
presence in Aceh continues, as do most of the restrictions imposed under
martial law.
The Indonesian government and security forces have effectively shut off
Aceh from the rest of the world, severely restricting the activities of
Indonesian and international humanitarian and human rights organizations.
Many non-governmental organization workers and activists have been forced
into hiding. International media have been effectively barred from
entering the province and the Indonesian press has been intimidated. In an
affront to the United Nations itself, Indonesian authorities forced the UN
to curtail its humanitarian activities in Aceh for several months in 2003.
While the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross are now
allowed to operate there, significant constraints remain imposed on
internal travel and contact with the civilian population.
In Papua, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have long documented human rights
violations. Recently, the Indonesian military's creation of militia has
exacerbated tensions between indigenous Papuans and migrants. A military
campaign in the Central Highlands has led to an inestimable number of
civilian deaths and significant population displacement. The fate of those
hiding in the Papuan forests remains unknown, as military authorities have
prohibited provision of humanitarian assistance. Human rights
organizations have endured intimidation and threats by government security
forces operating with impunity.
Human rights violations in Papua have instigated a refugee flow across
international borders. Dialogue between the Indonesian national government
and Papuan local leaders has recently broken down, as demonstrated by
Jakarta's ultimately deadly attempt to divide the province into smaller
provinces against the will of the people.
The international community has remained too quiet for too long
regarding the conflicts in Aceh and Papua. The scale of human rights
violations in these two Indonesian provinces warrants special
international attention. Therefore, we urge you to appoint a Special
Representative to Indonesia to monitor and report on the situations in
Aceh and Papua. We look forward to hearing from you regarding these
concerns.
Sincerely,
Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ)
Senator Chris Dodd (CT)
Senator Patrick J. Leahy (VT)
Senator Ron Wyden (OR)
Senator Russell D. Feingold (WI)
Senator Deborah Ann Stabenow (MI)
Senator Richard J. Durbin (IL)
Senator Jon S. Corzine
Senator Herb Kohl (WI)
Senator Barbara Boxer (CA)
Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Senator Carl Levin (MI)
Senator Byron L. Dorgan (ND)
Senator Patty Murray (WA)
Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (MD)
Senator Jack Reed (RI)
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (HI)
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (MA)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA)
cc: James B. Cunningham, Acting U.S. Representative to the United
Nations
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