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Aceh abuses `widespread'

Indonesian troops are committing widespread human rights abuses in war-torn Aceh province, and incoming President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- himself a former general -- should act to stop the violations, Amnesty International said yesterday.

The military denied the accusations in the report, which mirrors findings released last month by Human Rights Watch that alleged systematic torture by security personnel in the province.

"These things are not happening here," said Aceh military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Asep Sapari.

"It is impossible we would torture our own people. We are here to help them," he said.

The report, based on interviews with villagers and rebel prisoners in the oil and gas-rich province alleges torture and extra judicial killings by security forces are widespread.

"There is virtually no aspect of life in the province that has been untouched by grave abuses of human rights," said Ingrid Massage, Asia director of the London-based group.

Rebels have been fighting since 1976 for an independent state in Aceh. At least 12,000 people have been killed, more than 2,200 of them since the government launched a new offensive in May last year after a peace deal broke down.
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