One afternoon on the land of Serambi Mekah, the Commander of the Lilawangsa Korem (Danrem) Colonel Syafnil Armen received information from his subordinates. The long-awaited information mentions a prominent cleric from Beutong Ateuh, West Aceh, allegedly in possession of dangerous objects.
Teungku Bantaqiah, the name of the cleric, was suspected of storing hundreds of firearms. Another suspicion said the weapons were planted around his pesantren.
At the Babul Mukarramah Islamic Boarding School in Blang Meurandeh Village, Bantaqiah indeed supports hundreds of students who study religion with him. The cleric was also suspected of having 300 armed forces. Danrem quickly draws a conclusion: the weapons and troops are related to the activities of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Anticipating unwanted signs, the Danrem immediately reacted to the information. He sent orders by telegram dated July 15, 1999 to several battalion commanders. The core of his command: find, find, approach, and capture the movement of the troublemaker and his sympathizers, alive or dead.
Based on Danrem's orders, a joint force of 215 personnel was formed under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Heronimus Guru and Lieutenant Colonel Sudjono as supervisor of operations. Except for the Danrem and the joint forces leaders, no one thought that the telegram would bring disaster.
On July 22, 1999, joint forces arrived in Beutong Ateuh. They set up tents to prepare for the raid. Residents around witnessed the arrival of troops with feelings of anxiety. They do not know why the army came suddenly and in huge numbers. But experience during the Military Operations Area (DOM) has honed their instincts: something will happen.
The next day, July 23, 1999, at around 11:00 am, fully armed troops began to enter the pesantren. Some of them cover their faces with black and green paint.
Inside the pesantren complex, some troops perform psy-war: shouting Bantaqiah's name with blasphemy and scolding. Bantaqiah and hundreds of santri who were reciting were suddenly tense. Shortly thereafter, Bantaqiah with a disciple came down to meet them.
After meeting Bantaqiah and relaying their affairs, Sudjono contacts Heronimus via radio about the actions to be taken. Heronimus never answered. Sudjono left the site.
The inflamed troops ransacked the pesantren and rudely requested that all male male students come down and gather in the courtyard of the pesantren in a squatting position while showing their KTP. They were told to disarm, except for panties. Along with the search, the team led by Sudjono came to the location again.
The Watch Report mentions Sudjono forcing Bantaqiah to hand over all the rifles he presumed to keep. Bantaqiah denies. He felt he had never had a weapon as alleged. Unsatisfied with Bantaqiah's confession and persistent force, the army also lost patience.
In the midst of a tense situation, Sudjono questioned a transmitter radio antenna mounted on the roof of the pesantren. He told Usman, one of Bantaqiah's sons, to take it off.
After that, the abomination slowly began to reveal its form.
Usman walked to the house to pick up the equipment to make it easier to disassemble the antenna. But before he reached a house only 7 meters away from the assembly site, a soldier hit him with a firearm. Witnessing his son being hurt, Bantaqiah also tried to approach and embrace him.
As Bantaqiah approached Uthman's direction, the army echoed the shooting alphabet. Seconds, Teungku Bantaqiah, a cleric who was so respected throughout West Aceh, fell down in blood. He died instantly. The troops then fired consecutive shots and blindly towards the santri group. Less than a minute, 34 santri follow the teacher.
After a barrage of repeated shots, troops gathered surviving santri to be lined up. On the pretext of bringing them to treatment, the santri who suffered injuries were transported, even the santri who were not hurt at all were also taken. All of them are 23 people. They put up a truck to take to Takengon. Only a few people were deliberately left behind.
On the way, right at kilometer 7, twenty-three students were lowered and ordered to squat exactly on the lips of a cliff. That's where they were also shot blindly.
Human Rights Violations and Munir's Role
The case of the Bantaqiah massacre and the santri students in Beutong Ateuh later became the national spotlight, and even became the world's attention. What Sudjono and his subordinates are doing is a category of gross human rights violations.
Read the next story of the Indonesian version here