http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/aceh-rally2.jpg

Notice the sign that says "Exxon/Mobil"? The oil company was the enemy of the people of Aceh.




http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2003/06/48782.php

June 14, Canberra: Protest Australian military ties with Indonesia
by ASAP Thursday June 12, 2003 at 08:13 PM
ASAP@asia-pacific-action.org (+61 2) 9690 1032 - Fax: (+61 2) 9690 1381 PO Box 458, Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, AUSTRALIA -

The Acehnese community and their solidarity supporters will join the 'Defence and Industry 2003' conference protest on June 24. On June 24-26, in the ACT, the Australian government is hosting this conference at the National Convention Centre, Constitution Ave, Canberra. The Australia-Aceh Association in Sydney is organising transport to Canberra for the day.


http://melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/aceh-rally1.jpg

Please circulate

Protest Australian military ties with Indonesia!
The Acehnese community and their solidarity supporters will join the 'Defence and Industry 2003' conference protest on June 24.

On June 24-26, in the ACT, the Australian government is hosting this conference at the National Convention Centre, Constitution Ave, Canberra.

Some 1500 delegates are expected to attend to network and to plan the tender of defence contracts from, and with, the Howard government.

The Defence and Industry 2003 conference is an important forum between the Australian government and international corporations which deal in arms. It will promote the manufacture, import and export of lethal weapons by Australian and international companies, and is therefore an ideal opportunity to put the arguments against such a lethal and inhuman military-industrial complex.

Speakers at the conference include Senator Robert Hill, Minister for Defence, Ian Macfarlane M.P., Minister for Industry Tourism and Resources, Fran Bailey M.P., Parliamentary Secretary for Defence. Delegates from Raytheon, Lockheed-Martin, British Aerospace, and other big international arms producing corporations are expected to attend.

The Acehnese community will join other peace activists to protest against the government's decision to increase defence spending and to maintain military ties with the Indonesian government which is currently waging all-out war against the Acehnese people.

The Australian government currently provides no military hardware to Indonesia, but it maintains a training program for Indonesian military officers and is looking to expand this. Senator Hill wants to resume military ties with Kopassus, the discredited special forces who masterminded the carnage in East Timor, and are now busy doing the same in Aceh and West Papua.

The Australia-Aceh Association in Sydney is organising transport to Canberra for the day.

They are encouraging solidarity activists to join with them to take their protest to Canberra.

To book a seat on the bus, call Dahlan on 0401 956 274.

To find out more about what's happening in Aceh, go to the home page of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific @ www.asia-pacific-action.org.

Below is the arms embargo call from TAPOL.
To sign on please contact Paul Barber at plovers@gn.apc.org


CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL MILITARY SANCTIONS AGAINST INDONESIA

We are organisations with long-standing concerns about human rights in
Indonesia and about the adverse impact on human rights of Indonesia’s
military relations with other countries. This statement arises out of
our alarm at developments in Aceh following the Indonesian Government’s
declaration of martial law on 19 May 2003 and our concern about military
operations currently underway in the Central Highlands of Papua.

The military offensive in Aceh is now proceeding at a level that is
causing widespread civilian loss of life and the destruction of Aceh’s
public infrastructure. Human rights groups fear massive violations of
human rights and are especially concerned about the safety of human
rights defenders and civil society activists. Numerous reports of
extra-judicial killings and torture are emerging from Aceh, including of
students and boys as young as 12. Several NGOs have been forced
underground because of dire warnings from the Martial Law Authority.
Their activists have been threatened with arrest and as a result many
have gone into hiding. Acehnese communities are being targeted in
Jakarta and other cities outside Aceh. In an attempt to isolate Aceh and
suppress the truth about the war, the Government has banned foreign aid
workers and international NGOs and imposed severe restrictions on press
freedom. Tens-of-thousands of people have been internally displaced and
villagers are afraid to tend their land. The UN has expressed concern
about a looming humanitarian crisis as food supplies run dangerously
low.

In Papua, military operations have intensified in the Central Highlands
following an incident in Wamena on 4 April. Villagers are fleeing their
homes and some deaths have been reported because of the lack of food.
The Indonesian military (TNI) have obstructed investigations into the
killing on 31 August of two US citizens and one Indonesian in the
vicinity of the Freeport copper-and-gold mine. On 21 May, the US Senate
Foreign Relations Committee agreed to reinstate a ban on military
training for Indonesia because of the authorities’ failure to take
effective measures to investigate these murders. Indonesian police and
NGO investigations have implicated the TNI in the attack. The TNI is
renowned for its brutality and lack of accountability in areas of
conflict. In September 1999, the US imposed restrictions on arms exports
and military relations with Indonesia following the TNI’s campaign of
murder and mayhem in East Timor. The EU introduced similar restrictions
at the same time, but they were lifted after four months.

There has been no meaningful progress towards reform of the military or
the ending of impunity in the intervening period. On the contrary, the
TNI are seeking to enhance their political role. The proceedings at
Indonesia’s ad hoc human rights court on East Timor have been a travesty
of justice. Recently, the most senior officer charged with crimes
against humanity, Major-General Adam Damiri missed several days of his
trial in order to help prepare the TNI for its assault on Aceh.

Military equipment supplied by other countries - especially the US and
UK - is now being used by the TNI in Aceh. We hold those countries
complicit in any attacks with such equipment on civilians and regard
those countries as accessories to consequent breaches of human rights
and international humanitarian law.

Although there is currently a ban on the transfer of US weapons to
Indonesia, the TNI is using weapons supplied before the ban. OV-10
Bronco counter-insurgency planes are rocketing villages in Aceh while
C-130 Hercules transport aircraft have dropped hundreds of paratroopers
over the region. Indonesia is preparing other US equipment for use,
including F-16 fighter jets, S-58 Twinpack helicopters and numerous
small arms.

British-supplied Hawk aircraft are being used to attack and bomb
villages. Scorpion tanks have also been deployed to the area. TNI
spokesmen have said that they have no intention of complying with
assurances given to Britain that the equipment would not be used for
counter-insurgency purposes or to suppress human rights.

Other countries with significant military ties with Indonesia include
Australia, which is pushing to resume relations with Indonesia’s
notorious special forces, Kopassus, and Russia, which recently signed a
deal to supply four Sukhoi jet fighters and two MI-35 helicopters. Some
governments are seeking to restore and expand training for members of
the TNI and to collaborate with the TNI in seminars and conferences as
well as joint exercises. The TNI, which has not engaged a foreign foe in
over 50 years, has regularly used combat skills obtained in part through
foreign training programs against civilians.

We are convinced that the TNI represents a grave threat to the stability
and security of Indonesia and we believe that the policy of western
countries to strengthen their military ties with Jakarta as part of the
“war on terror” is wholly misguided and dangerous. Given the backdrop of
mounting casualties and human rights abuses attributable to the TNI and
wanton killings in Aceh and Papua, we believe it is intolerable for
governments to engage with the TNI on a business-as-usual basis.

We therefore call upon all governments to:

1. Impose an embargo on the supply of military equipment to Indonesia,
to include contracts agreed before the entry into force of the embargo;

2. Insist on the withdrawal from Aceh of all equipment previously
supplied to Indonesia;

3. Suspend all forms of military co-operation with Indonesia to include
training, participation in seminars and conferences, joint exercises and
senior level military exchanges;

4. Press the Indonesian Government to end the military operations in
Aceh and to resolve the conflict by means of peaceful dialogue, and to
halt military operations in Papua and withdraw the elite forces now
operating in the Central Highlands.

June 2003 Solidarity with Aceh grows

Solidarity with Aceh grows



BY PIP HINMAN & STUART MUNCKTON

As news of Indonesian military atrocities in Aceh — including girls as young as six being raped — spreads, so does the solidarity with the Acehnese people’s struggle for democracy.

On June 5, 33 people gathered outside the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur for a candlelight vigil organised by Solidarity for Aceh. The coalition is calling on GAM and the Indonesian government to agree to a cease-fire and resume negotiations.

It is also calling on the Indonesian government to: allow international peace observers to monitor human rights and development programs; create an independent commission to investigate the attacks and killings and bring the perpetrators to justice; allow the Acehnese people freedom of expression; and abandon the subversion article in the criminal code for which the ultimate penalty is the death sentence.

The group is also calling on the Malaysian government to broker a peace plan and facilitate a long-term solution to the conflict in Aceh.

In Canberra on June 6, protesters demanded Indonesia cease its war on Aceh. Organised by the socialist youth organisation Resistance, the picket also called for the Australian government to cease all military ties with Indonesia.

In Sydney supporters of peace in Aceh are discussing plans to broaden the campaign.

TAPOL, the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign, based in Britain, has drafted an international statement calling for a global arms embargo with the Indonesia military. It is being circulated for signature and can be read at www.TAPOL.gn.apc.org or www.asia-pacific-action.org. To sign on, contact Paul Barber at plovers@gn.apc.org.


From Green Left Weekly, June 11, 2003
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page @ www.GreenLeft.org.au

ACEH: Support waning for Indonesia's terror war
ACEH: Support waning for Indonesia's terror war

By JAMES BALOWSKI

JAKARTA — Although coverage of Indonesia's brutal war in its northern-most province of Aceh has all but disappeared from the international media, it is still front-page news here. If you believe the headlines, the Indonesian military's (TNI) goal of crushing the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and “resolving” the Aceh “question” once and for all has been a resounding success.

Three weeks into the “integrated operation”, the TNI is claiming that GAM militants are fleeing to the mountains, trying to escape to North Sumatra or nearby Malaysia. The TNI claims it has surrounded or taken control of most of GAM's strongholds and killed more than 100 GAM members. More than 70 have been arrested or have surrendered.

However, human rights violations, the displacement and forced evacuation of civilians, press restrictions and violence against journalists, mass arrests of students and human rights activists and other harsh measures are undermining domestic and international tolerance for the TNI operation.

On May 30, the TNI's Aceh military commander Major-General Endang Suwarya issued a decree prohibiting foreign vessels from entering Aceh's waters. He said this was to prevent weapons smuggling by GAM and that ships failing to heed warnings would be “blown out of the water”.

On the same day, a decree was issued to limit the use of telecommunication equipment, in particular walkie-talkies. On June 1, Suwarya issued a decree authorising the seizure communications equipment throughout Aceh.

The TNI has begun replacing civilian administrators at the district and sub-district level with military officers. TNI insists this is only a “temporary” measure.

Police are on a nationwide alert for fleeing GAM members and have stepped up surveillance of about 20 locations in greater Jakarta and parts of Sumatra. Human rights activists are also being targeted. On June 4, Amnesty International stated: “There is now serious concern for the safety of all human rights defenders in [Aceh], some of whom have already been subjected to human rights violations.”

Police spokesperson Sayed Husaini told Agence France Presse on June 3 that activists who assist GAM would be charged with subversion, adding that police have records and evidence against them. He gave no details on the size of the wanted list, other than to say there are “a lot”.

Husaini said many are students from a state institute for religious studies in Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, or are members of non-government organisations. He specifically named one, Kautsar, who is the deputy chairperson of Student Solidarity for Acehnese People. Among the NGOs threatened were the Information Centre on a Referendum for Aceh and Society's Solidarity for the People. Members of the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front are also being hunted.

Opposition grows
On May 31, religious leaders from the country's two largest Islamic organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, along with the Indonesian Communion of Churches, demanded that the Indonesian government avoid civilian fatalities and boost humanitarian activities in the province. They emphasised that the main purpose of the integrated operations was “winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese”, not a military takeover.

Earlier, Muhammadiyah chairperson Ahmad Syafii Maarif suggested that more casualties would spark anti-government sentiment among the Acehnese. Maarif said the government should stop the war and look for ways of resolving the Aceh conflict peacefully.

Jakarta governor Sutiyoso has warned Muslim preachers not to use mosques as a forum against the war. Sutiyoso's spokesperson Achyat Awe told the June 4 Jakarta Post that the governor had learned that many preachers were speaking out against the military operation during Friday prayers.

The US government has also begun to express concern. Speaking after a meeting with Indonesian defence minister Matori Abdul Djalil in Singapore on May 29, US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz called for a political solution to the Aceh conflict and urged Jakarta to allow NGO monitors into the province. This would “help encourage the world that Indonesia is behaving professionally and carefully”, Wolfowitz said. A US State Department official added that “this is not the way we were hoping things would turn out” and that Washington is watching the situation “carefully”.

Djalil said Indonesia's Aceh operation was both military and humanitarian and hoped for success within six months. “Maybe it will finish in just two or three months because we understand ... that too long [a period of] martial law ... is not good for our government.”

`Deep concern'
On May 29, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was “deeply concerned” at the impact of the war on the civilian population of Aceh. In particular, he was “disturbed by reports of extra-judicial killings and widespread burning of schools”. He called on Jakarta to “ensure the necessary security conditions to allow international aid organisations safe and unhindered access to affected populations”.

Indonesia's UN representative Slamet Hidayat expressed disappointment at Annan's statement. According to the May 30 Detik.com, Slamet said: “Although [Annan] is not making accusations, his statement could lead the international community to believe that there were civilians being murdered.”

State minister of communications and information Syamsul Mu'arif said Jakarta plans to hire an international public relations firm to sell Indonesia's war. “We are weak in international public relations as foreign press coverage on Aceh has been giving a negative impression of the operation”, he told the May 31 Jakarta Post.

Yasril Ananta Baharudin, a member of the parliamentary information and foreign affairs commission, said the government had failed to gain public support for the Aceh war and suggested it emulate the US government, which set up media centres to sway public opinion during its invasion of Iraq.

Press restrictions
Journalists who have ventured out of the relative safety of Banda Aceh continue to bring back stories of massacres and summary executions by TNI soldiers. There are reports that detail abductions of non-combatants and discoveries of corpses, some shot and others exhibiting signs of torture, on roadsides.

Journalists say that, because of fear of reprisals by TNI, morgue workers now write “loss of blood” as the cause of death on corpses delivered with execution-style head wounds.

Jakarta recently rejected requests from about 10 international journalists to enter Aceh. Suwarya has said there is no need for “foreign observers” in the province. Officials admit that such requests are normally dealt with by the department of migration but, following the declaration of martial law, the sole authority now lies with Suwarya.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists on May 29 issued a statement: “CPJ has documented a series of alarming incidents in which journalists have been targeted while driving on the main road between the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and the town of Lhokseumawe [in North Aceh]... We are also gravely concerned by mounting evidence of a systematic effort by Indonesian security forces in Aceh to restrict reporting on the fighting there.”

Similarly, on May 29, the Jakarta based Coalition Against Violence Toward Journalists detailed several violent incidents and restrictions imposed on journalists in Aceh. It said that the restrictions started when Suwarya asked the media on May 20 not to quote statements from GAM. Then on May 25, the TNI stipulated that all journalists had to report to the military before covering the operation to prevent “internationalisation” of the Aceh case.

Andrew Marshal, writing in the June 9 Time magazine, painted a chilling picture of the political climate facing journalists in Aceh: “Of all the hardware currently deployed in Aceh, US-supplied bombers, British-made jets, tanks, armored troop carriers, assault helicopters, warships, it was a slate-gray Japanese sedan that unnerved us journalists the most.

“The car bore a large sign reading `Press', yet it carried several uniformed men with guns. Who were they? GAM rebels? Not likely: the car was spotted several times in broad daylight in areas controlled by the TNI.

“More likely, we thought, the passengers were soldiers deliberately misusing press stickers to besmirch our independent and non-combatant status, and to draw us into the line of fire by making vehicles carrying journalists legitimate targets of either GAM or the TNI.

“It worked. By the end of the campaign's first week, at least seven real press vehicles had to brave a hail of bullets. Then, as journalists began to report on the mounting military atrocities against civilians, several reporters — Indonesian and foreigners — were interrogated by the police or army, and at least three received death threats.

“The 54 Indonesian journalists `embedded' with various TNI units fared no better. They arrived in Aceh frightened, partly because they wore military uniforms and were indistinguishable from the troops and partly because their military keepers had told them GAM knew all of their names and intended to assassinate them.

“Foolishly, I had assumed the presence of embeds might curb the worst excesses of the troops. Fat chance. Two embed teams have witnessed TNI atrocities and been warned — in one case, on pain of death — not to report them. `Before, the embeds were afraid of GAM', says an Indonesian colleague in Lhokseumawe in northern Aceh. `Now, they're more afraid of the TNI.'”.

On June 2, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said it would investigate more than 20 cases of alleged human rights violations during the first two weeks of the operation. Komnas HAM reported that, from the testimonies obtained so far, there are indications that the perpetrators are members of GAM, rogue elements of the TNI and other unidentified groups.

At a press conference in Jakarta on June 2, MM Billa, head of Komnas HAM's monitoring team in Aceh, said: “Based on these findings, Komnas HAM calls for an end to hostilities between the two opposing parties and for the reopening of negotiations and the involvement of civil society [in these negotiations]. The emergency military operation must be terminated in order to also end the possibility of continued civilian casualties.”

Billah noted that the cases of human rights violations included summary executions of civilians in Bireuen on May 27, the torture of civilians in the village of Hadu (Bireuen) on May 23, sexual harassment of civilians in the village of Meunasah Krueng on May 23, rapes in greater Aceh on May 26, the rape of a 13-year-old child at the Ara Bungong Kampung in Bireuen on May 26, the arrest of Tempo journalists on May 26 and the forced expulsion or removal of residents.

[For more coverage of the Aceh people's struggle for freedom, visit <http://www.asia-pacific-action.org>.]


From Green Left Weekly, June 11, 2003
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page @ www.GreenLeft.org.au

ACEH: TNI forges statement by wounded German

ACEH: TNI forges statement by wounded German

BY JAMES BALOWSKI

At around 9pm on June 4, two German tourists camping out near Lueng Gayo beach in the sub-district of Teunom in West Aceh were fired on by Indonesian troops (TNI). Lothar Heinrich Albert (54) died from a bullet wound to the chest and his wife, Elisabeth Engel (50), was shot in the knee. She is now being treated at the regional military command hospital.

At a press conference the following day, military operational commander Bambang Dharmono explained that the incident occurred after local people reported seeing a suspicious light behind their house. TNI troops were sent to investigate and, after twice calling out the “password” and firing warning shots in the air, fired in the direction of the light, hitting Albert and Engel. Dharmono stressed this was standard operational procedure and troops only fired after there was no response to their repeated warnings.

TNI chief Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed deep concern and ordered an investigation into what is the latest in a series of shootings of unarmed people by soldiers. Welfare minister Yusuf Kalla warned that the shooting of foreigners in Aceh “will definitely trouble us” in the same way the killing of foreigners in West Timor several years ago had reverberated around the world.

Although the exact circumstances of the incident are still being investigated, more interesting is a letter shown by Dharmono to reporters, which he says was “written” by Engel and in which she explicitly states that troops were not to blame for the death of her husband. In response to questions, Dharmono insisted that it was not written under duress.

So, what's so interesting about the letter? Well, the June 6 Kompas daily was kind enough to reprint a photograph of the letter for all to see:

“I, Elisabeth Engel say, that we will sleep on this beach and I (know) now, it was very dangerest area and it was not good, to do this at this situation. I know, I should'nd be there and about the heappen, my husband is death and I know, this was only a miss - understanding from military. I will except my husbands deaths.

“Mauloboh, Juni 5.03

“s/- [illegible] Engel Elisabeth Engel”

The language and style of handwriting (which is different from the signatures, and the month is written as “Juni” not “June”) suggests that it was obviously written by an Indonesian and not Engel.

But, as the military points out, they probably shouldn't have been staying in such a dangerous area in the first place and the whole thing may have just been a terrible accident. Or perhaps because Engel was not fluent in English or wasn't feeling well enough, “someone else” wrote the letter which she then read, agreed to and signed.

Maybe. But, I can help wondering why, if I was lying in a hospital bed with a hole in my leg, having just seeing my spouse gunned down in a hail of bullets, and in the absence of a lawyer or consular representative, my first act would be to agree to write or sign a letter who's sole purpose is to absolve the military of any wrong doing?


From Green Left Weekly, June 11, 2003
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page @ www.GreenLeft.org.au


www.asia-pacific-action.org/

add your comments



Aceh Rally in Sydney end-May
by ASAP Thursday June 12, 2003 at 08:13 PM
ASAP@asia-pacific-action.org (+61 2) 9690 1032 - Fax: (+61 2) 9690 1381 PO Box 458, Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, AUSTRALIA -

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?
category=1104&slug=Tsunami%20Nowhere%20to%20Run

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 · Last updated 9:04 a.m. PT

Aceh inmates stood no chance in tsunami

By CHRIS BRUMMITT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER


This photo shows the destruction left the Dec. 26 tsunami near the sea coast of Banda Aceh, Indonesia Wednesday, Jan.5, 2005. US Secretary of State Colin Powell toured Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province Wednesday and said the devastation wrought by the disaster was the worst he had ever seen. (AP Photo/Choo Youn-kong, PoolL)
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- Soon after the earthquake shook Banda Aceh prison, wardens released the inmates into the central courtyard, fearing a second, more powerful temblor might collapse the cells.

But nobody expected what came next - a huge wave that smashed through the walls as if they were made of paper, engulfing the complex in a torrent of churning water and debris. All 280 inmates and six guards are missing and feared dead, as are 200 other prisoners in other facilities in the region.

"They didn't make the connection between an earthquake and a tsunami. Our grandparents, and their grandparents before them, have never experienced such a thing," said Teuke Darwin, head of the provincial justice ministry. "They used to think a tsunami was a Japanese television series."



Exxon to sell gas to plants in Aceh

www.chinaview.cn 2005-01-04 08:36:03

By Grace Nirang (China Daily)

BEIJING, Jan. 4 -- Exxon Mobil Corp agreed to sell natural gas to Indonesian fertilizer plants in Aceh province that are threatened with closure to help rebuild the economy after the area was devastated by last week's earthquake and tsunamis, the oil and gas regulator said.

Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, agreed to a government request to boost supplies to the fertilizer plants at the expense of a nearby liquefied natural gas plant partly owned by the US company, said Rachmat Sudibyo, chairman of the regulator, BPMigas. Exxon's spokeswoman Deva Rachman could not be reached for comment.

The agreement "will help revive the economy devastated by the recent tragedy," Rachmat said yesterday.

A magnitude-9 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra and subsequent tsunamis may have killed 100,000 people in coastal regions of Indonesia. The giant waves killed at least 30,000 people in Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, the government said in a statement in Jakarta yesterday.

Exxon's supply to the PT Arun NGL gas liquefaction plant in Aceh has declined in recent years because of depleting reserves in the company's fields.

Indonesia's other gas liquefaction plant, PT Badak NGL in Bontang, East Kalimantan, will fulfill some of the export contracts that Arun will no longer be able to honour, said Djoko Harsono, head of the marketing division at BPMigas.

"Arun and Badak have this transfer commitment so Arun can supply gas to fertilizer plants without having to cut LNG exports to buyers," Djoko said.

Badak, the world's largest LNG plant in operation, will deliver as many as nine cargoes to Arun's buyers in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan next year, he said.

Exxon, which operates gas fields in the northwestern province of Aceh, signed contracts on December 31 to supply 120 million cubic feet of natural gas a day to fertilizer makers PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda I and II in Aceh at US$2.30 per million British thermal units.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/04/content_2412509.htm


TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO GUARD EXXON AND OTHER VITAL ENTERPRISES

Report received from Aceh on 6 November 2001

A report from Aceh indicates the extent of troop deployment in North Aceh, nominally charged with protecting a number of Indonesia’s most prestigious industrial ventures, including Exxon-Mobil Indonesia and its associated refinery, PT ARUN.

According to the report, which gives a detailed breakdown of troop deployment, at least 10,755 (ten thousand seven hundred and fifty-five) troops have been posted in 77 (seventy seven) different location in the district of North Aceh, including 30 (thirty) villages, 3 (three) schools, 2 (two) mosques and one shopping complex. The report states that two hundred and fifty KOSTRAD troops have been posted in Lhok Kuyun village, Sawang Sub-district alone.

In Seunudon Sub-district, a total of 800 (eight hundred) troops have been posted in eight different locations, including 550 (five hundred and fifty) Marines and 150 (one hundred and fifty) men from Infantry Battalion 111.

On 31 October 2001, Dasian Ben Yusuf was arrested by the Marines based at Aluee Bili, Seunudon Sub-district. Two days later, on 2 November 2001, he was found dead by a villager in Paya Cicem river. The fate of two other men arrested by troops guarding the Exxon-Mobil site known as ‘Bachelor’ at Simpang Landing, Lhok Sukon, remains unconfirmed.

Troops have been deployed all along the Exxon-Mobil pipeline road, and regularly carry out operations into the nearby villages. Those using the pipeline road are stopped and searched. Villagers report cases of the systematic use of intimidation and extortion perpetrated by members of the security forces, and the report indicates that the inhabitants of villages located along or nearby the Exxon-Mobil pipeline are in a high state of fear and unrest, due to troop activity.

One example the report cites is that of Simpang Leupe, a village located along the Exxon-Mobil pipeline, where members of the security forces demand money from every vehicle which passes along that road, including the public transport and poor villages on their bicycles.

The troops deployed include KOPASSUS (forty at PT AAF complex and an unspecified number at PT PIM port at Dewantara and Dewantara Koramil base), KOSTRAD (deployed mostly to secure Exxon-Mobil facilities – units 121 and 122), Marines, Airforce, Brimob, TNI regulars, ZIPUR (Engineers) and ARHANUD (artillery air defence corps). The numbers of ‘organic’ and ‘non-organic’ forces are not made clear in the report.

The projects being secured by the troop deployment include:

Exxon-Mobil Indonesia
PT ARUN
PT Aceh Asean Fertiliser (PT AAF)
PT Pupul Iskandar Mudah (PT PIM – fertiliser)
PT Kertas Kraf Aceh (PT KKA – pulp and paper plant)
State Electricity Company (PLN)
Tripara Co Warehouse

The full troop deployment data is given below:

Abbreviations: TNI = Indonesian National Armed Forces
BKO = reinforcement troops sent from outside Aceh, aka "non-organic"
POLRI = Indonesian National Police.
KOSTRAD = Indonesian Army Strategic Command.
PERTAMINA = National Oil Company
PU = Public Works Department
BRIMOB = Para military Mobile Brigade of POLRI.
KOPASSUS = Army's special commando unit (parachutists)
ARHANUD = Artillery Air Defence Corps
AURI = Indonesian Air Force
MARINIR = Marines
ZIPUR = Military Engineering Corps

SECURITY FORCES DEPLOYED TO DEFEND VITAL PROJECTS

1. Teumpok Teungoh LR. III. Lhokseumawe : 60 men of TNI BKO
2. SKB. Keude Aceh: 60 men of TNI
3. Pertamina. Hagu South West: 40 men of TNI/ POLRI
4. TPI. Ujong Pusong Lama: 50 men of TNI/ POLRI
5. SMKK.Gampong Jawa Lama : 40 men of TNI (KOSTRAD)
6. Next to PU Office: 40 men of TNI
7. District Officer (Bupati)'s Office: 20 men of TNI/ POLRI
8. EXXON-MOBIL Sports Complex of Uteunkot: 150 men of TNI/ POLRI
9. Cunda Plaza Shopping Complex: 100 men TNI/ POLRI
10. Lhok Seumawe Port: 12 tents of unknown number of TNI/ POLRI
11. Pusong Lama: 200 men of TNI
12. Teumpok Mosque: 10 men of BRIMOB
13. TRIPATRA Co. Warehouse of Blang Panyang: 200 men of TNI/ POLRI
14. PBI hill of Meunasah Muria: 70 men of TNI/ POLRI
15. Padang Sakti pipeline: 50 TNI/ POLRI
16. Cot Gapeuh Village of Padang Sakti: 50 men of TNI/ POLRI
17. Paloh punti Sp. Cot Pling village: 70 TNI/ POLRI
18. Paloh punti Sp. Cot Mosque: 70. TNI/ POLRI
19. Desa Seuneubok Kec. Blang mangat village: 100 TNI/ POLRI
20. Sp.Leupee.Kec. kutaMakmur village: 50 men of TNI/ POLRI
21. Blang Ktreing.Kutamakmur village: 50 men of TNI/ POLRI
22. Blang Pulo Telecoms hill: 120 men of TNI/ POLRI
23. PT.ARUN telecoms complex 100 men of TNI/ POLRI
24. Football stadium of ARUN: 400 men of TNI/ POLRI
25. Bukit Indah (ExxonMobil) of Muara Dua Sub-District: 70 men of TNI/ POLRI
26. ExxonMobil complex of Rancung (site of the infamous KOPASSUS torture complex during DOM): 1200 men of TNI
27. Gate I and II of ARUN gas project: 40 men of private security unit.
28. Payong post of PT.ARUN gas project: 20 men of TNI
29. PT. ARUN main office: 200 men of TNI
30. Sp. Empat KR.Geukueh village: 60. BRIMOB.
31. Police station of Dewantara: 60. BRIMOB
32. Koramil Dewantara Military base: 50 men of TNI(KOSTRAD/KOPASSUS)
33. Dewantara Camat (Assistant District Officer)'s office: 50 men ofTNI (KOSTRAD/KOPASSUS)
34. PIM Sports Stadium: 80 men of KOPASSUS.TNI BKO 130.
35. PLN Electricity Board of Cot Trueng,Muara Batu: 500 men of TNI.
36. Muara Batu Camat's office: 200 men of SILIWANGI (West Java TNI)/ BRIMOB
37. Ulee Gadong Primary School: 60 men of TNI
38. Air Defence missile site DEN RUDAL 001: 2000 men.(ARHANUD/KOSTRAD/SILIWANGI/KOPASSUS/ZIPUR/BRIMOB.
39.Malikussaleh Airport: 100 men of AURI/MARINIR/BRIMOB.
40.PIM port of Dewantara: 500 KOPASSUS/KOSTRAD/BRIMOB
41.AAF (AcehASEAN Fertilizer) Complex :130 men of a private security firm + 50 men of KOPASSUS
42.Cot TGK NI(at UNIMA university campus): 100 men of KOSTRAD/BRIMOB
43.Cot Wee village: 50 BRIMOB BKO
44.Kec.Muara Batu District Officer's Residence: 60 men of KOSTRAD/BRIMOB
45.Ulee Pulo.Kec.Muara Batu village: 35 men of BRIMOB
46.Gampong Barat Kec.Nisam village: 100 men of TNI
47.Cot Sabong .Nisam village : 250 TNI/POLRI
48.Ulee Nyeu. Lr.Jrat. Nisam village: 100 men of TNI
49.Njambek. Nisam: 100 men of TNI/POLRI
50.PT.KKA (Aceh Paper Mill) project, site of the infamous KKA junction massacre in 1999: unknown number of men from a private security firm + BKO.TNI.POLRI.

SECURITY FORCES DEPLOYED FOR SECURITY OF EXXON MOBIL

1.Sp Leupe, unknown number of men of KOSTRAD, 121, 122
2.Bukit Permata Hijau Housing complex: 100 men of KOSTRAD, 122,121
3.Simpang Jeuleukat: 60 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
4.Nex to Alue Liem Religious school of Blang Mangat: 20 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
5.Korpri Housing complex: 400 men of KOSTRAD, 411, 122, 121
6.Kebun Asia comlex: 40 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
7.Geunali Raya Housing complex, Blang Buloh: 40 men of KOSTRAD,122, 121
8.Simpang Mon Tujoh, Blang Buloh, Blang Mangat: unknown number of KOSTRAD,122,121
9.Kebun Sawit Said Sulaiman: 30 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
10.Cot Nek Andah village: 40 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
11.Simpang Alue Glem village: 100 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
12. Hill top of Bukit Cot Matahe 60 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
13.Foothill of Bukit Cot Matahe: 60 men KOSTRAD, 122, 121
14.Cot Matahe Football field: 400 men of KOSTRAD, 122, 121
15.Cot Matahe Junction: 40 men of KOSTARD, 121, 122
16.Simpang Ulee Meuria village,Syamtalira Bayu: 60 men of KOSTARD, 122, 121.
17Simpang Pulo U village, Syamtalira Bayu: 60 men of KOSTRAD,122,121
18.Paya Kambuk, Jungka Gajah village: 40 men KOSTARD,121, 122
19.Simpang Daya Nudi village: 40 men of BRIMOB POLSAK JUNGKA GAJAH.

ADDITIONAL DATA REGARDING TROOP DEPLOYMENT IN NORTH ACEH

There are 4 KOSTRAD posts totalling 250 men at Sawang Sub-District.

Units and strength of security posts in the SEUNUDON Sub-District, North Aceh:

1. POLSEK, battalion 3: 100 men.
2. Camat Office, Infantry Battalion YONIF 111: 150 men.
3. MATANG LADA, Marines: 100 men.
4. TEUPIN KUYUN, Marines: 60 men.
5. ULEE REUBEK BARAT, Marines: 100 men.
6. BLANG GEULEUMPANG, Marines: 150 men.
7. KUTA PAIDAH, Marines, 40 men.
8. ALUEE BILI, Marines, 100 men.

Units and strength of security posts in the JAMBO AYE Sub-district, North Aceh:

1. TEUPIN GAJAH. 70 Marines.
2. MEUNASAH DAYAH. 120 Marines.
3. DESA MEUREUBO. 150 Marines.
4. KUALA JAMBO AYE 60 Marines.
5. EX WATERWORKS OFFICE. 80 Marines.

ENDS
http://tapol.gn.apc.org/r011106acehtroops.htm


Exxon taken to court in the US

Exxon, the world's largest oil company, has been taken to court in a US court, accused of complicity with the Indonesian military in egregious human rights violations in Aceh. The case, filed on behalf of eleven plaintiffs, makes grave charges against the company for its close collaboration with the Indonesian armed forces, employed by it to provide its installations with 'security'

The lawsuit was filed in the District of Columbia court on 11 June by the Washington-based International Labour Rights Fund and is based on two US laws, the Alien Tort Claims Act under which foreign citizens can sue corporations in the US for human rights abuses, and the Torture Victim Protection Act which allow foreign victims of torture to sue corporations or individuals in the US.

The eleven Acehnese plaintiffs, seven men and four women, are not named in the lawsuit, special dispensation having been granted by the court to allow the plaintiffs to remain anonymous. As the lawsuit states, 'if they complained to the military authorities, they would face certain retribution and punishment'.

The lawsuit charges that the plaintiffs 'have been subjected to serious human rights abuses including genocide, murder, torture, crimes against humanity, sexual violence in violation of the Alien Tort Claims Act ... and the Torture Victims Protection Act'.

Complicity with Suharto

ExxonMobil as the company is now known was created as the result of a merger on 30 November 1999 between Exxon Corporation and Mobil Corporation, owners of Mobil Oil Indonesia (MOI). 'Having reported approximately $210 billion in revenue for the year 2000, ExxonMobil,' the lawsuit states, 'ExxonMobil is now listed as the largest publicly held American corporation by the magazine Fortune. In calendar year 2000, ExxonMobil reported the world's largest corporate profits'.

Having discovered a large natural gas field in Arun, Aceh in the early 1970s, Mobil Oil obtained exclusive rights over the exploitation of these reserves 'from the brutal military regime headed by General Suharto ... in exchange for providing the Suharto family with "blank shares" in MOI as well as other forms of direct and indirect payment'. Since then, the Arun Project which incorporates the extraction facilities now owned by ExxonMobil, and the liquefaction plant owned by the state company, Pertamina (55 per cent), Exxon (35 per cent) and a Japanese company (10 per cent), 'has been one of the largest and most profitable natural gas projects in the world and has helped catapult Indonesia as one of the world's largest natural gas producers and exporters'.

The suit charges that because of the extreme unpopularity of the Suharto regime, security was an essential element and the Project's activities 'could not have been performed without a heavy military presence'. Hence troops were assigned for that purpose, for which the company pays a regular fee. Moreover, according to the suit, the company also controlled and directed the security forces, 'making decisions about where to place bases, strategic mission planning and making decisions about specific deployment areas. (Indeed, it is a recognised part of the 'duties' of the Indonesian armed forces to provide protection for so-called 'vital enterprises' which they have also been providing for three decades to the Freeport copper and gold mine in West Papua.)

By the time of the merger between Exxon and Mobil Oil, there was a 'clear public record of pervasive and systematic human rights violations perpetrated upon the innocent non-combatant villagers of Aceh by the TNI troops specifically hired to provide "security" for the Arun Project'. This included provision for two military barracks located near the installations, commonly referred to as 'Post 113' and 'Rancong Camp' which were used by Kopassus (special forces) units to interrogate, torture and murder Acehnese civilians suspected of engaging in separatist activities. It also included the provision of heavy equipment so that the Indonesian military could dig mass graves to bury their Acehnese victims, and the use of roads constructed by the companies to transport the military's victims to mass graves located near company premises.

Since the collapse of the Suharto regime, the defendants' 'security' service, the TNI, have continued without restraint to practice 'ethnic genocide', while the company has ignored pleas by numerous human rights groups to cease its operations in Aceh until it can make arrangements to operate without using the murderous TNI for security.

A litany of abuses

All the plaintiffs, referred to simply as John or Jane Doe, were subjected to abuses at the hands of troops guarding the company's premises. One plaintiff was shot in the wrist, had a grenade thrown at him and was left for dead. He lost a hand and his left eye. The second was forced onto a truck, beaten severely on the head and body, blindfolded and taken to Rancong where he was tortured for months. The third was shot three times in the leg then dragged to a post where he was tortured while his gunshot wounds bled, had his skull cracked and was burnt with cigarettes. He was finally released after a bribe was paid. The fourth was beaten by soldiers, accused of being GAM and had the letters 'GAM' carved on his back with a knife. The fifth was held in a building inside the company's complex, tortured with cigarettes and electricity, sustaining severe injuries to his head and body. His captors also beat his son and broke his leg. The sixth plaintiff was tortured then taken to his village and ordered to identify all villagers who were members of GAM. When he denied knowing any GAM members, he was beaten and shot in the leg. After hospitalisation, he was tortured again, suffering more severe injuries. Finally, his village head made a collection in the village and bribed the police to release him. Male plaintiff No 7 was taken by his captors to an office inside the company compound where he was beaten with the butt of a gun and a hammer, sustaining severe injuries.

The house of the first female plaintiff, who was pregnant at the time, was forcibly entered by a soldier who threatened to kill her and her unborn child, then sexually assaulted her. The second woman plaintiff's husband was shot dead while working in a field, while the third woman's husband was taken from their home at gunpoint and never re-appeared. Female plaintiff No 4 also lost her husband when he was working in a field where he was shot and killed.

The court was requested to award the plaintiffs compensatory and punitive damages and to enjoin the defendant from further engaging in human rights abuses against the plaintiffs and their fellow villagers in complicity with the Indonesian government and military.

Pertamina: 'We're responsible'

In response to the lawsuit, Exxon issued a statement 'categorically' denying any suggestion that it or its affiliate companies were involved in abuses by the security forces. For its part, Pertamina claimed that it was responsible for ExxonMobil security. 'The protection for all vital installations is the responsibility of Pertamina,' the company said, adding that it was common for the company to ask for assistance from the government if its vital installations came under threat. The president-director denied that they financed troops, but 'simply provided some health, housing and transportation facilities for the security officers ... in return for their services in guarding our facilities'. [Jakarta Post, 23 June 2001]

No one should expect early results from the lawsuit. Other cases, against Unocal in Burma and Shell/Chevron in Nigeria, are currently under consideration in US courts and it could take years for a verdict to be handed down.

Exxon and US policy

Three months before the lawsuit was filed, Exxon halted all its operations in Arun for reasons of security. Four days later, the Indonesian cabinet adopted a decision to declare GAM a 'separatist' organisation and set in motion preparations for an all-out offensive in Aceh. This came with Presidential Instruction No IV/2001 (Inpres/IV) on 11 April and the commencement of military operations on 2 May. A primary aim of the operations was the need to persuade Exxon to resume operations, as the shutdown was costing the Indonesian state $100 million a month in revenue and a possible meltdown of its guaranteed overseas market for liquefied natural gas. Even before specially-trained counter-insurgency troops were sent to Aceh from various parts of Indonesia with a mission 'to crush GAM', an additional 2,000 troops were sent to increase 'security' at the Arun field.

Since the shutdown, there have been several explosions and attacks on company premises for which GAM has been blamed. The GAM leadership says that their units were not responsible and indeed would not have been able to penetrate the security surrounding the installation, had they wanted to.As the months have passed, Jakarta's efforts to persuade Exxon to resume operations have become more and more frenzied, including threats from Pertamina to take over the company or to insist on a shake-up of its executives. As we went to press, operations were expected to resume in mid-July.

US government policy on the question of Aceh is heavily focused on safeguarding Exxon's continued existence in Indonesia. This holds true especially since George W. Bush took office; Exxon contributed $1.2 million to the Bush election war chest, one of the biggest donors.

During the talks in Geneva between the Indonesian government and GAM on 30 June/1 July, a key demand from Jakarta was for GAM to give a written assurance that it would not attack the installations; TAPOL understand that there was also strong pressure along these lines from the US shortly before the talks took place. For reasons known best to itself, GAM was not willing to give any such assurances, apparently because, to have done so would have meant acknowledging that they had been responsible for past attacks.

http://tapol.gn.apc.org/162nexxo.htm


ExxonMobil:
How the Company is Linked with Indonesian Military Killings, Torture and other Severe Abuse in Aceh, Indonesia
In the past decade alone, ExxonMobil has extracted some $40 billion from its operations in Aceh, Indonesia, leaving in its wake a legacy of death, destruction and environmental damage.

There have been credible reports dating back several years that Exxon Mobil Corporation, along with its predecessor companies, Mobil Oil Corporation and Mobil Oil Indonesia (collectively "Exxon Mobil"), hired military units of the Indonesian national army to provide "security" for their gas extraction and liquification project in Aceh, Indonesia. Members of these military units regularly have perpetrated ongoing and severe human rights abuses against local villagers, including murder, rape, torture, destruction of property and other acts of terror. ExxonMobil apparently has taken no action to stop this violence, and instead, reportedly has continued to finance the military and to provide company equipment and facilities that have been used by the Indonesian military to perpetrate and literally cover up (in the form of mass graves) these criminal acts. Click here to learn one local woman's story: CUT ZAHARA HAMZAH's statement to XOM shareholders at the May 2002 AGM.

The International Labor Rights Fund has taken on the challenge of seeking justice for local victims of these abuses. On June 20, 2001, ILRF filed an ATCA claim in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 01-1357 CIV, on behalf of 11 villagers from Aceh who were victims of human rights abuses by Exxon Mobil's security forces. The general theory of the case is that Exxon Mobil knowingly employed brutal military troops to protect its operations, and the company aided and abetted the human rights violations through financial and other material support to the security forces. In addition, the case alleges that the security forces are either employees or agents of Exxon Mobil, and thus Exxon Mobil is liable for their actions. Exxon Mobil filed a routine motion to dismiss ILRF's claim, and ILRF filed a response against this motion on December 14, 2001. The court heard arguments in the case on April 9, 2002, and a decision was expected within 60 days. Instead, the court has not yet ruled on the motion to dismiss, leaving the Acehnese victims of abuse in a state of legal limbo. Earlier in 2004, the presiding judge in the case asked for additional briefing on the impact on ILRF's case against ExxonMobil of the Supreme Court's decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, in which the Supreme Court upheld the use of the Alien Tort Claims Act in cases like ILRF's ExxonMobil suit. ILRF filed its brief in the case in August 2004. The parties continue to await the court's decision on the motion to dismiss. Like Unocal, Exxon Mobil's primary defense appears to be that the human rights violations may very well be occurring, but the company did not specifically intend this result, and therefore cannot be held liable.
http://www.laborrights.org/projects/corporate/exxon/



Down to Earth No. 49, May 2001

Aceh: Exxon Mobil shuts down
In March the US-based oil company Exxon Mobil announced it was suspending operations at its Aceh oil and gas fields due to the deteriorating security situation. It is no coincidence that only days later, the Jakarta government announced it would step up military operations in the conflict-ridden territory.
Exxon Mobil announced the temporary shut-down of operations in Aceh on March 9th. The company said the decision was taken because of security concerns for its staff and people living near its operations. In the days following the decision, top-level staff were evacuated to Medan in neighbouring North Sumatra and PT Arun, the LNG processing plant part-owned by the company, officially suspended operations. Reports circulated that other major industrial installations in Aceh - two fertiliser plants and the Kertas Kraft pulp plant - which rely on PT Arun for fuel, would follow suit.

For many years Exxon Mobil has been associated in the minds of a war-weary Acehnese population with the Indonesian military's reign of terror in towns and villages near the company's operations. As a 'vital enterprise' Exxon's operations were placed under heavy military guard. Company equipment was used to dig mass graves for massacre victims and its buildings used as centres of torture. Local NGOs have called on the company to take responsibility for human rights violations (see DTE 48). It is not surprising that the company's decision to suspend operations was welcomed by many local people. However, their relief may turn out to be short-lived: Jakarta's response is to send yet more troops to the region.

After officially declaring the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) a "separatist movement", the Jakarta cabinet announced in March "limited military operations" for Aceh. The move, which is seen as a boost to the military and a set-back for President Wahid, acts against the progress in negotiations between Indonesia and the GAM brokered by the Henri Dunant Centre in Switzerland. In the latest agreement reached in mid-February, both sides agreed to replace the so-called Humanitarian Pause (agreed in May last year) with locally-negotiated security arrangements between field commanders on the ground.

There have been no concrete results from the Humanitarian Pause or from the one-month moratorium on violence agreed in mid-January this year - indeed the levels of violence have continued to escalate. Fears that human rights defenders continue to be targeted by the security forces were confirmed when three volunteers working for an NGO helping torture victims (RATA) were tortured and killed in December last year. Three months later, on March 29th, two human rights workers and their driver were murdered shortly after leaving a police station in South Aceh. Nevertheless, the latest decision by Jakarta can only make the chances of a negotiated peace even more remote. Recent reports suggest that a further 6,000 troops are ready to join an estimated 30,000-strong military force already in the territory. Human rights groups are concerned that, with the increase in troop numbers, the armed conflict with GAM will intensify and bring more suffering to the civilian population.

(Source:Reuters 30/Mar/01; Jakarta Post 12/Mar/01; Tapol Bulletin 161, Mar/Apr/01; New York Times 24/Mar/01)

Economic pressure

In the continuing economic crisis, the Indonesian government is clearly under great economic pressure to persuade Exxon Mobil that it is safe to resume operations. LNG exports from Arun earn more than US$1.8 billion per year from a production of 11 million tonnes per year. Some 225 shipments annually are made, mostly to Japan and Korea. The LNG processing complex at Bontang in East Kalimantan, which produces twice as much as Arun, has been designated to take over supply commitments to these consumers but can only do so until the end of May. This is why the Jakarta government has been pressing Exxon to restart operations by then.

The situation has caused some friction between Exxon Mobil and the government, with President Wahid openly accusing the company of using the security situation to put pressure on Jakarta to renegotiate its contract. Under its production-sharing contract, Exxon takes 30% of revenues from the gas sales while the state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, takes 70%. Pertamina says it stands to lose $100 million per month if the suspension continues.

In April Pertamina was reported as saying it would take over operations in Aceh if Exxon failed to start up again by June. This report was later denied.

To convince Exxon Mobil that it is safe to restart operations, the government has sent in more than 2,000 extra troops to guard the company's facilities. Exxon remains sceptical however and has resisted naming a target date for reopening the plant. In March, the New York Times reported that the energy and mineral resources minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, was forced to abandon an attempt to visit the site when shots were fired at his plane, preventing a landing. President Wahid also postponed a trip to the territory the same month.

For its part, GAM denies targeting the company itself, but regards the military forces guarding the facilities as a legitimate target.

(WSJ.COM News Roundup 24/Mar/01; Jakarta Post 18/Apr/01, 13/Mar/01)
http://dte.gn.apc.org/49Ach.htm

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/12/307042.shtml

Check out the before and after photos of the Aceh region - the place hardest hit by the tsunami - 80,000 dead

Historians are taught to discern the biased way history is written. For example : Great Britains version of the Revolutionary war is quite different from the U.S. version.

I checked out the portland.indymedia site, total rubbish.

"read it, write it, your site, your news, for southern cascadia"

WTF ? Cascadia ? How ridiculous...

So, they allow anyone to post "news" on that site.

I could write a story about how I think Godzilla fighting King Kong caused the tsunami, and they would post it up on that site.



I watched a show last night on Discovery channel, with REAL scientist explaining exactly what happened. BTW they also, made several comments about how there is NO WARNING system in place in the Indian Ocean. They showed the extensive warning system for the Pacific Ocean, and said if there had been one in place in the Indian Ocean, the death toll would have been minimal. Nothing you or anyone else has claimed even comes close to how things really happened. You nor the author of the sources you so proudly display, have even a grammar school understanding of nature or how natural disasters occur.

Why is it, that when you make an argument, you have to flood threads with long lists of inane bullshit ? Don't answer that, I already know.

Further more, all of the countries involved have their own governments and their own resources. Why should the U.S. who is always despised and hated when stepping in around the world, be compelled to step into this situation. Why should we send our hospital ships ? How many hospital ships did India or the rest send when the hurricanes hit the east coast last summer, or on 9/11 ? For that matter how much money did they send us to rebuild ? NONE .. What I am saying is, it's not the U.S. responsibility to do anything. Those countries shouldn't be their own country if they can't handle the responsibilities. And also, I thought the world was tired of the U.S. policing it.

I truly feel for the poor people over there who lost their straw huts and their dirt roads. But for all the rich people crying about their ocean front mansion or resort, or their million dollar yacht, then I guess that's why they should have had some insurance. And if the insurance companies can't pay for it, then oh well, that's what those rich folks get for living so close to the ocean. This is 2005, there is no excuse for not knowing the calculated risk of living near water (floods, hurricanes, tsunamis). There is also no excuse for the governments of those countries being so cheap and stupid that they never put a warning system into place.

You can say I am way off base, and an idiot all you want, but at least I am not displaying articles written by some anonymous 3rd grade dropout...

Let's take a look at the latest links and see what we really have here. I'll assume for the time being that DML is done with the attacks and insults (though I wouldn't put money on it).

First up:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/05/18/indonesia.aceh/

This article comes from a well known news agency with an extensive record in verifiable and supported journalism. It is written by correspondent Atika Shubert, should we ever need more information about it.

Basically the article states that US marines are helping the Indonesian government protect resources in Aceh from Indonesians rebels. It also notes:

Quote:

---

The arrests are an example of the broad powers martial law gives the military and police in Aceh in their effort to root out rebels.

They are permitted to arrest anyone deemed a security threat to the nation; to shut down communications in the province, including blacking out news broadcasts; and to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the province.

---

So . .. now we know why the Marines are there. They're going to help the Indonesian government maintain contorl of the natural resources in Aceh. Some of these resources are owned by EXXON/Mobil Indonesia.

Should we accept the deployment of US troops to protect the interests of Exxon/Mobil? No. American men and women should not die for corporate interests. However that is not ALL that's going on here. The Indonesian government has asked for US help so that Aceh does not fall into the hands of the rebels.

Both sides have been accused of comitting atrocities . . . so where should our sympathies lie? Should we refrain from sending aid to the attrocity commiting Indonesian government and allow Aceh to fall into the hands of atrocity-committting rebels?

Tough call. Either way, it's martial law out there and people are still suffering. The big loser in this whole episode, the people of Indonesia.

Next up:
http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2003/06/48782.php

This information comes from some site that calls itself indymedia. It is authored by someone claiming to be named ASAP who provided no contact information. Therefore this article is useless because we don't know who wrote it, and even if we did we have no way of contacting them. This is not news, this is what some guy called ASAP says happened.

Next Up:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?

This was written by a member of the Associated Press, which has a long standing reputation of providing accurate news worldwide. The Authors name is CHRIS BRUMMITT, should we ever need to contact him.

The article talks about the release of inmates in Aceh after the earthquake. The tsunami rolled in after the quake and killed them. They were not expecting the tsunami as evidenced by this quote:

Quote:

---

"They didn't make the connection between an earthquake and a tsunami. Our grandparents, and their grandparents before them, have never experienced such a thing," said Teuke Darwin, head of the provincial justice ministry. "They used to think a tsunami was a Japanese television series."

---

.

A tragic loss of life to be sure. I'm not sure how this story is supposed to tie in to the overall theory.

That's all I have time for at the moment, but I'll hit some more when I get a break.

-Dan M

Dan I'm on your side; just walk away from this thing.
This guy is nothing more than an "Intellectual Bully" and "NEWS Junkie".
He's been all over this site for days now.
Copying, pasteing and pounding away on his keyboard 20 hours a day.
Rave on Dave

"Dan I'm on your side; just walk away from this thing.
This guy is nothing more than an "Intellectual Bully" and "NEWS Junkie".
He's been all over this site for days now.
Copying, pasteing and pounding away on his keyboard 20 hours a day.
Rave on Dave"

1) Thanks for more personal attacks that have nothing to do with the evidence presented. I guess you'd rather talk about what I choose to do with my time than the long history of Exxon and genocide-over-oil.

2) I'm currently hanging out at my folks place and there's not much here to do but research on tobacco and try to learn something about the tsunami.

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wanted to talk about the evidence - as indicated by my quote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
". . . and namecall and trade personal attacks. The thread stands as a record against this idea that you were solely interested in debating facts. Stop lying."

1) I'm glad you said "trade" instead of implying I was the only one "attacking"

2) You deserved every "attack" you got ... as I've already demonstrated.

3) You "attacked" first - your attacks began on page one of this thread:

Re: HAARP and the destruction in Asia [Re: davidmalmolevine]
#1017213 - Tue Jan 04 2005 06:30 AM (65.117.50.98)

I don't respond in silence to someone pulling out their training and claiming that they are right because they sat through four years of obedience training in history school.






Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan wants to talk about how I don't argue like an adult and how I've used the suffering of homosexuals to further ... whatever he thinks I'm doing here aside from going over the evidence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"No, I wanted to debate facts and not engage in petty name calling and insult trading. However your continued attacks on my character warranted a response. Again, stop lying."

Your started it. You deserved it. Stop using your schooling to over-rule the evidence presented and let's move on.






Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is clear from all of my posts I just want to talk about the evidence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We can all read your posts, stop lying."

If you read the ones on the fourth page, I've gone back to looking at the connection between Exxon and oil and genocide. ... You've taken the opportunity to go on about how much of an attacker and liar I am. We can all read your posts, too.








Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------It is clear from ALL of Dan's posts he just wants to dismiss and distract the conversation away from my evidence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"More lies. I asked you to provide credible sources and you didn't know what they were,"

You mean I didn't know what you meant by "credible". Had you not defined your criteria you could have dismissed everything for any reason. Nice try.




"... so I defined them for you. I explained why the sources you were citing were either unreliable or did not say what you were claiming they said."

Your standards for "reliable" and "credible" are different - let's just stick to the ones for "credible" - name, location, verifiable by another similar source.





"While I was doing this you continued you back handed attacks on my character. Stop lying."

I continued to knock you off your ivory tower. Just stick to the facts and spare us your tirades about "the keen eye of the trained historian" BS.

"Academic elitism suggests that in highly competitive academic environments only those individuals who have engaged in scholarship are deemed to have anything worthwhile to say."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_tower

This also applies to your narrow and status-quo view of what is "reliable" and what is not.





Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's also clear from Dan's post that he's a liar, as he threatened to stay away from here if I didn't apologize. I didn't. He's still here ... dismissing and distracting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I notice you don't mention the first time I left you sent me a PM asking me to return. This demonstrates that even when you take part in an event you can't seem to give an honest assessment of what has actually transpired. Is this a pathological thing?"

Nope, it's a "Dan's twisting the truth again" thing. You started the "your turn" thing in the private mail. I stopped asking you to come back on the fourth - BEFORE the moment you threatened to leave (the fifth). It was about that time that I realized your only purpose here is to dismiss and distract. It's the only two tricks you know.




Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If anyone still wants to talk about the evidence I've attempted to present (or who wishes to add or subtract from it) ... I'm here.
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"I will certainly do so. However, if you choose to halt the debate with more false innuendo and character attacks I will halt it again and point out your dishonest and desperate tactics."

Oh good, I can't wait! More nit-picking from the decerning eye of the trained historian!

Just deal with the evidence and move on from this game. I can play it as good as you can.









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I think the whole "David hates/uses homosexuals" is another distraction
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"Nowhere did I claim you hated homosexuals, quit lying."

You certainly implied it:

"If there is any homophobia present in our conversation, it's on your end."

"Homosexuals are openly discriminated against in society. At times they are beaten and killed by people demonstrating extreme homophobia."



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I didn't bring the topic up. I was talking about icky feelings - that's all.
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"The thread shows you twice levelled false charges of homophobia at me. Quit lying."

So then why do you take a statement about feelings and turn it into a butt-sex joke? If anyone is "using" homophobia to distract attention away from the evidence presented, it's YOU - not me.




"Now . . . if you're ready to continue in a civil fashion free from insult, I'd be more than happy to help you seperate your solid sources from anonymous internet trash."

Ah yes ... still want to look at the evidence? We can tell from your next post if that is true or not.

I am waiting for the servers to get fixed over at indymedia, so I can "publish" my story about Godzilla and King Kong, causing the tsunami.

It's not like it hasn't happened before when those two hook up, it's always catastrophe. I have proof too, the 1962 documentary "Kingukongu tai Gojira" or in english "King Kong vs. Godzilla" clearly shows the two giant sized creatures fighting in the water and creating huge waves.