[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 327 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 327

 Calling on the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement to 
immediately declare a ceasefire and halt hostilities in the Indonesian 
   province of Aceh, end all human rights violations, and return to 
negotiations with significant Acehnese civil society and international 
                  involvement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2003

 Mr. Crowley (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Evans, and Mr. 
   English) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Calling on the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement to 
immediately declare a ceasefire and halt hostilities in the Indonesian 
   province of Aceh, end all human rights violations, and return to 
negotiations with significant Acehnese civil society and international 
                  involvement, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Government of Indonesia declared martial law in the province of Aceh 
        on May 19, 2003, following the breakdown of the Cessation of Hostilities 
        Agreement between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement 
        (GAM);
Whereas the United States strongly supported the Cessation of Hostilities 
        Agreement, which manifested dramatic reductions in human rights abuses 
        and provided a promising framework for peaceful resolution of the 
        conflict;
Whereas the Government of Indonesia's military campaign has displaced thousands 
        of Acehnese civilians and extensive violations of human rights have been 
        reported, including extra-judicial killing, torture, rape, sexual 
        assault, arbitrary detention, forced displacement, and destruction of 
        property;
Whereas the Indonesian Government, armed forces, and police have cracked down on 
        domestic human rights and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations and 
        agencies through extra-judicial killing, disappearance, physical 
        intimidation, detention, and destruction of property in Aceh and 
        elsewhere;
Whereas lawyers of Acehnese detainees have reportedly been threatened and in 
        some cases assaulted, and many of the human rights and political 
        activists detained have been denied legal representation;
Whereas those responsible for approving, planning, and carrying out the 
        extrajudicial execution of Acehnese human rights lawyer Jafar Siddiq 
        Hamzah--a United States permanent resident who testified before 
        Congress, advocated human rights and a peaceful political solution for 
        Aceh, and was later abducted, tortured, and murdered upon his return for 
        a visit to Indonesia--have not been prosecuted and brought to justice;
Whereas the armed forces and police of Indonesia have yet to publicly release 
        any surveillance files they may have maintained on Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, 
        or materials they may have pertaining to his abduction, torture, and 
        execution;
Whereas Muhamad Nazar, one of Aceh's most prominent civilian leaders, was 
        sentenced to five years in prison in an apparent revival of Suharto-era 
        legislation for ``sowing hatred and hostility'' against the Indonesian 
        Government for peaceful political activities;
Whereas the Indonesian Government has severely restricted access to Aceh by 
        international humanitarian and human rights agencies and nongovernmental 
        organizations, effectively precluding their operation in Aceh;
Whereas the Indonesian Government has curtailed the free flow of information on 
        conditions in Aceh by severely limiting access by international and 
        domestic journalists and intimidating local journalists, including the 
        reported murders of several local journalists;
Whereas the Free Aceh Movement has been accused of serious violations, including 
        the burning of schools, extortion, and taxation of many Acehnese 
        residents;
Whereas President Bush and senior United States Government officials have stated 
        that the conflict in Aceh is not amenable to a military solution, and 
        leading religious figures, civil society leaders and politicians in 
        Indonesia have called for a ceasefire in Aceh;
Whereas the Indonesian Government and the armed forces of Indonesia are likely 
        to prolong the duration of martial law in Aceh, from the initial six 
        months to the completion of nationwide elections in mid-2004;
Whereas the Government of Indonesia has publicly pressured the Government of 
        Malaysia to forcibly return Acehnese seeking refuge in Malaysia;
Whereas the Government of Malaysia, in contradiction to international refugee 
        law and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) guidelines 
        on detention, has forcibly returned Acehnese asylum seekers to Indonesia 
        where they are at risk of serious human rights violations and has 
        further detained several hundred asylum seekers with the indication that 
        they too will be forcibly returned, although some of them have been 
        issued protection documentation by the UNHCR or have indicated a desire 
        to seek protection from the UNHCR; and
Whereas a previous decade-long (1989-1998) military campaign in Aceh led to the 
        death of more than 10,000 civilians and broad human rights abuses, while 
        failing to resolve the conflict in Aceh: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) Congress--
                    (A) condemns past and ongoing violations of human 
                rights by all sides in the Indonesian province of Aceh;
                    (B) calls on the Government and armed forces of 
                Indonesia to allow immediate, free, and unhindered 
                access to Aceh by international humanitarian and human 
                rights organizations and by international and domestic 
                journalists;
                    (C) calls on the Government and armed forces of 
                Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to 
                immediately declare a ceasefire and halt hostilities, 
                end all human rights violations, and return to 
                negotiations with significant Acehnese civil society 
                and international involvement;
                    (D) calls on the armed forces and police of 
                Indonesia to publicly release any surveillance files 
                they may have maintained on Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, and 
                all materials they may have pertaining to his 
                abduction, torture, and execution;
                    (E) calls on the Government and armed forces of 
                Indonesia to immediately end martial law in Aceh and 
                withdraw all non-organic troops, intelligence forces, 
                and special forces such as ``KOPASSUS'' and 
                paramilitary and special police such as ``BRIMOB'', 
                ``GEGANA'', and ``SGI'' components; and
                    (F) calls on the Government of Malaysia to refrain 
                from the forcible return of Acehnese asylum seekers to 
                Indonesia, allow these asylum seekers full access to 
                representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner 
                for Refugees (UNHCR) to enable them to apply for asylum 
                should they wish to do so, respect protection 
                documentation issued to refugees and asylum seekers by 
                the UNHCR, and release asylum seekers thus far 
                detained; and
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that the President and 
        Secretary of State should--
                    (A) expeditiously increase efforts, in conjunction 
                with the Government of Japan, the European Union, the 
                World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 
                and others instrumental in securing the December 2002 
                ceasefire, to press both sides to the conflict to 
                suspend hostilities and return to negotiations;
                    (B) increase pressure on the Government, armed 
                forces, and police of Indonesia, and the Free Aceh 
                Movement, to cease all human rights violations;
                    (C) press the Government of Indonesia to prosecute 
                and bring to justice those responsible for approving, 
                planning, and carrying out the extrajudicial execution 
                of Acehnese human rights lawyer and United States 
                permanent resident Jafar Siddiq Hamzah;
                    (D) press the armed forces and police of Indonesia 
                to publicly release all surveillance files they may 
                have maintained on Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, and all 
                materials they may have pertaining to his abduction, 
                torture, and execution;
                    (E) urge the Indonesian Government, armed forces, 
                and police to end repression and intimidation of 
                nongovernmental organizations and to allow immediate, 
                free, and unhindered access to Aceh by international 
                humanitarian and human rights organizations and 
                independent monitors;
                    (F) press the Government of Malaysia to release 
                Acehnese asylum seekers in detention, allow them full 
                access to representatives of the United Nations High 
                Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to apply for asylum 
                should they wish to do so, immediately refrain from 
                forcibly returning Acehnese seeking asylum in Malaysia, 
                and cooperate fully with the UNHCR;
                    (G) increase efforts to assist in the 
                rehabilitation and economic development of Aceh;
                    (H) raise and protest human rights violations 
                committed in Aceh at all appropriate international fora 
                and actively support involvement of the United Nations 
                High Commissioner for Human Rights, through the 
                dispensation of special rapporteurs, to investigate 
                human rights violations in Aceh;
                    (I) press the Government of Indonesia, working 
                through the Indonesian National Commission on Human 
                Rights (``KOMNAS HAM''), to identify those individuals 
                within the Indonesian armed forces, police, and others 
                who should be prosecuted for human rights crimes 
                committed in the military campaign in Aceh and ensure 
                that trials are conducted which meet international 
                standards of justice;
                    (J) review its bilateral relationship and military 
                assistance to Indonesia in light of serious human 
                rights violations committed by the Indonesian armed 
                forces and police in Aceh; and
                    (K) urge the Indonesian Government and armed forces 
                to refrain from using United States-supplied weaponry 
                in Aceh.
                                 <all>