Int'l community pressures Indonesia to solve rights activist murder

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) -- Indonesia, already facing international attack for this week's killing of U.N. workers in West Timor, was pressed on Thursday to solve another murder -- that of a human rights activist in the troubled province of Aceh.

The trussed and tortured body of Jafar Siddiq Hamzah was found earlier this week in Aceh in the north of the island of Sumatra where separatist rebels have long battled Indonesian rule.

INTERACTIVE MAP Fragile Archipelago -- a look at conflict areas in Indonesia and environs     ALSO Clinton asks Indonesia to disarm militias Wahid says West Timor gangs will be brought to justice International, Indonesian aid workers flee violence-racked West Timor Slain U.S. aid worker was left exposed to danger in Timor, says family

"It is crucial now that the government redouble its efforts to find and bring to justice those responsible for the murder of Mr Hamzah and the four others found with him," the United States Embassy said in a statement.

Hamzah, a New York resident, disappeared in early August during a trip to Medan city, the capital of the neighbouring province to Aceh.

A number of activists and pro-rebel supporters have disappeared from Medan in the past.

"We find it odd that so many high-profile people can vanish or be killed, particularly in Medan...and yet police have not been able to make a single arrest. It would seem to indicate incompetence or complicity of the security forces," the Asia director of the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, Sidney Jones, said in a statement.

Thousands have been killed in Aceh in the past 10 years, mostly during the 1990s when then autocratic ruler Suharto put the rebellious province under military control.

The current president, Abdurrahman Wahid, has tried with some success to calm the staunchly-Islamic region and has proposed extending a ceasefire with rebels.

The killing adds to the international pressure Indonesia -- which relies heavily on foreign aid -- is coming under over human rights abuses within its borders.

Earlier this week, three United Nations international staff were killed by pro-Jakarta militias in the refugee town of Atambua in West Timor.

Those murders overshadowed the start of a United Nations summit being attended by Wahid and brought sharp rebukes from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

U.N. says thousands attack its offices in West Timor
September 6, 2000
Indonesia names 19 as suspects in East Timor violence
September 1, 2000
United Nations relief agency suspends West Timor aid after attacks
August 23, 2000
United Nations, East Timor leaders negotiate rebels' fate
March 17, 2000
Amnesty report says Indonesian forces torture, kill rebels
March 7, 2000
Indonesian president in good health, resumes workload
March 7, 2000
Wiranto criticizes East Timor vote organization
March 1, 2000
U.N. forces fire warning shots as Wahid arrives in East Timor
February 28, 2000
IMF proposes tax regime for East Timor
February 25, 2000
Security concerns on the road to East Timor's reconstruction
February 24, 2000

Political Resources on the Net - East Timor
East Timor Today
United Nations
  • U.N. High Commisioner for Refugees
  • U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor
East Timor Action Network U.S.
CIA World Factbook: Indonesia
Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights
PEMDA DKI Homepage

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.