In a Joint Statement on Acheh on November 6, 2003, the European Union, Japan and the United States, which co-chaired the Tokyo preparatory Conference on peace and reconstruction in Acheh, expressed their concern for the extension of the state of military emergency in Acheh.

Martial law status is currently scheduled to end on 19th May 2004. The House of Representatives (DPR) may recommend the government lower martial law to a state of civil emergency, given improving security and public order in the province. The lifting of martial law, however, would not necessarily mean the withdrawal of troops

Martial law was imposed in Acheh on May 19, 2003 for six months. In November 2003, the GoI extended it for an additional six months arguing that the first six months of martial law had been insufficient to crush the Free Acheh Movement (GAM) who have been fighting to regain self-determination in the oil-rich but underdeveloped territory since the 1970s upholding a century of resistance since 1873.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) acknowledged on 5 May 2004 that troops in Acheh were guilty of hundreds of violations, including rape and selling ammunition to rebels in the province.TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said 511 violations had been recorded since a military operation was launched in Acheh in mid-May 2003.

The last time the Indonesian government declared Martial Law was in 1999, when its military and militia thugs waged a campaign of terror in East Timor after the Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence. With an estimated 45,000 troops and police now in Acheh, this is the TNI’s biggest military offensive since the invasion of East Timor in 1975.

Source: Acheh Human Rights Online