Indonesiaâs military said on Wednesday it has found mass graves believed to contain the bodies of civilians killed by separatist rebels in Aceh province. The excavation on one of the four mass graves, in the grounds of an abandoned Islamic boarding school in the village of Alue Pisang in West Aceh, started on Sunday and had so far unearthed two corpses, said Colonel Geerhan Lantara, a district military commander.
| Two corpses isn't a very "mass" grave. On the other hand, since it's at an Islamic boarding school, no doubt there'll be more... |
The head of the Raudatul Ulum boarding school, a man called Tengku Taharuddin or Abu Taha, was arrested by the military early last month on suspicion of being a GAM âpolice chiefâ in the area, Lantara told AFP. âGAM has used the school as an operational base. The two corpses are beyond recognition but we know that they were civilians killed by the rebels,â he said without giving details of how many corpses are believed buried in the area. A GAM spokesman, Sofyan Daud, denied that Taha was a member of GAM and said the civilians had been killed by the military instead.
| "Yeah! They bumped 'em off six months ago and planted 'em there!" |
A member of the National Commission on Human Rights special team on Aceh, Zumrotin Susilo, said her team had not received reports of mass graves in West Aceh.
| "We're waiting for the paperwork..." |
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