These refugees are only a small segment of the illegal immigrants from Aceh, who have fled to Malaysia by boat, since the liberation struggle of the Acehnese people against the Indonesian state broke out in December 1976. The armed struggle has been subdued by the Indonesian armed forces (ABRI) in 1978. Yet, Aceh is still in a state of war, with the notorious Indonesian army's special forces, Kopassus, controlling most of the towns and country site and carrying out human rights violations comparable to East Timor and West Papua. Between 1989 and 1991, some 2,000 civilians were unlawfully killed, according to Amnesty International (Vatikiotis, 1994: 184, 186; Schwarz, 1994: 247-249; Ramage, 1995: 152, 191;  Lowry, 1996: 162-170; Jones, 1997).

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees strongly criticized France, Switzerland and Brunei for handing those refugees over. The Swiss government promptly hit back at the UN complaints saying that the intruders used force and did not ask for asylum. A Swiss spokeswoman said that the 14 Acehnese had forced their way into the embassy grounds with tear gas grenades and had struck two guards. The ambassador had called the Malaysian police when they tried to smash the embassy windows to get into the building. She further stated that "the Indonesians" had not been willing to speak or negotiate and "if they were really refugees among them, none of them expressed a wish for asylum."

That statement, coming from a European diplomat whose country prides herself for being the host of several UN agencies, and in particular the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, seems to be a very weak excuse. Because while the Swiss, French, and Bruneian embassies handed over those Acehnese refugees to the Malaysian police, eight Acehnese who succeded to enter the US Embassy compound by scaling a wall were still safely protected by the US diplomats, and were negotiating with the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, to hand them over to the that agency.

According to a representative of the Aceh National Liberation Front (ANLF), those who entered the diplomatic missions were among 105 Acehnese illegal immigrants who escaped from the Lenggeng detention centre in Malaysia on March 26. They had coordinated their entry on that Friday into the diplomatic compounds and were seeking political asylum.

A week before, 14 Acehnese drove a truck through the gate of the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur to seek asylum. The UNHCR had been interviewing these Acehnese refugees to determine whether they deserved political asylum, when the occupation of the other four diplomatic missions took place. These attempts by the illegal Acehnese migrants to seek political asylum were desparate efforts to avoid repatriation to their homeland.

Malaysia, under pressure from Indonesia, had used the economic crisis as an excuse to repatriate 545 Acehnese refugees, by considering them simply as "illegal economic immigrants." They had previously been held – together with other Indonesian illegal immigrants -- at the Lenggeng detention camp near Semenyih, about 40 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur. They were repatriated to Indonesia, after the inmates had clashed with their wardens on March 26, 1998, when eight inmates and one Malaysian police were killed.
The prison uprising itself, some stated, was triggered by news that they would be repatriated to  Sumatra, as had been the case of more than 1,000 Indonesian immigrants from various parts of the island, accross the Malacca Straits, a month before. That was part of a joint agreement between the Malaysian government and Suharto's last Minister of Labour, Theo Sambuaga, to repatriate 12,000 Indonesian illegal immigrants from Malaysia.

Meanwhile, 247 inmates escaped during the Lenggeng prison riots. Inspired probably by the frequent embassy occupations of  East Timorese youth activists in Jakarta, nearly fifty of them tried to seek political asylum by invading the UNHCR representative and the four embassies.

 The head of the UNHCR liaison office in Kuala Lumpur, Gottfried Koefner, demanded information from the Malaysian and Indonesian governments on the fate of those returnees, before deciding if the 22 Acehnese who were temporarily hiding in the UN and US diplomatic missions deserve asylum (Sydney Morning Herald , March 27-28, April 10 & 14, 1998; Reuters , April 10, 1998; Weekend Australian , March 28-29, April 11-12, 16, 1998).

There have been not much news -- if any -- about the fate of the Acehnese forced returnees. Most probably, they have been immediately detained on arrival, and those who were lucky, or could raise some funds from their relatives to bribe their way out, may have returned to "normal" life in their home villages. But those who were not so lucky, may still dwell in the numerous detention centres run by Kopassus and other army groups in Aceh.

The prison uprising in Malaysia also had negative repercussions for people in Aceh proper. A 30 year old woman, Cut Sari, who used to channel Acehnese workers to Malaysia, was immediately arrested by the Indonesian security forces in Arun, Aceh Pidhie, after the inmate uprising. She was detained for two months. When she was released in mid June 1998, her entire body was full with wounds and bruises that her own husband nearly could not recognize her, and she had to be hospitalized to recover from the torture wounds and psychological trauma. So far, only one legal aid group in Bandar Lampung, Southern Sumatra, Yayasan Pendidikan & Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (YPBHI) (ypbhi@indo.net.id) has shown interest in her case, as far as I have been able to monitor through Indonesian alternative e-mail bulletins.

This story tells us how extremely ridiculous and unresponsible was the Swiss -- together with the French and Bruneian embassies -- in Kuala Lumpur to refuse asylum to the Acehnese refugees who "invaded" their embassies.

This story also indicates, though, how strongly the Swiss Government values Swiss trade with and investment in Indonesia, so much so that it did not hesitate to turn down its humanitarian responsibilities to refugees and civilian casualties in armed conflicts. Responsibilities which are, ironically, enshrined in the 1949 Geneva Conventions pioneered by Henry Dunant's successors from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

***

WHILE  the lot of the Acehnese refugees in Malaysia and their compatriots who were fighting for an independent Muslim state has been – temporarily -- dumped into history's dust bin, another Indonesian angle has attracted Swiss journalists and human right activists.

Last year, there were rumours that former Indonesian President Suharto had transferred some of his family fortunes to Swiss and/or German banks. Then, earlier this year, there were also rumours that Suharto's successor, Acting President B.J. Habibie, and his relatives, have helped the Suhartos to carry out those bank deposits in Germany and/or Switzerland.

These speculations were fueled by rumours that twice during that year, Suharto had visited certain banks in Zurich. The first time was after his health check-up in Germany, when he was accompanied by some of his children and grand-children, and which had been arranged by the now Acting President Habibie.

The second possible visit to deposit his family's fortune in Swiss and/or German banks was on Suharto's return journey from Vancouver to Jakarta, via Zurich and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in late November 1997.

The November 1997 stop-over in Zurich was reported in Indonesia's largest daily, Kompas  on November 27, 1997. According to theKompas   journalist, Rien Kuntari, the stop over would only took one hour and was only to fill the fuel tank of the president's aircraft. Nothing was mentioned in that report about the aircraft which Suharto was using.

Suharto was going to leave the Anthropology Museum at the University of British Columbia where the APEC delegates were staying on Tuesday, November 26, at 4 PM local time, heading towards Vancouver Airport.

According to Kompas , the flight to Zurich would take eleven hours and 10 minutes. Then, the flight from Zurich to Jeddah would take five hours and 45 minutes.

Joining Suharto on this trip was Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and then State Secretary Murdiono. The latter is personally very close to Suharto, sitting on the boards of several Suharto family foundations.

Two days later, on Saturday, 29 November 1997, another Kompas   journalist, Bambang SP, filed a news report from Mekkah on Suharto's umroh   pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

According to Kompas , on Thursday, 27 November, at 10.17 PM local (Mekkah) time, accompanied by his children, with their spouses and children, began to enter the Ka'bah , the holy place in Mekkah. They left the Royal Guest House in Mekkah on 10:10 PM local time, heading towards the holy mosque, Masjidil Haram .

Accompanying the president were all his six children, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (Tutut), Sigit Harjojudanto, Bambang Trihatmojo, Siti Hediyati Haryadi (Titiek), Hutomo Mandala Putra, and Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih. Among the in-laws were Indra Rukmana (Tutut's husband) and then Mayor General Prabowo Subianto (Titiek's husband), and among the grand children were Ari Haryo Wibowo, Sigit's eldest son.

Ari Haryo Wibowo's presence in his grandfather's latest pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia is also reported by Paron , a newspaper owned by Suharto's golfing buddy Bob Hasan, on December 6, 1997.

Both rumours on whether Suharto has indeed deposited some of his family's wealth in Swiss -- or German -- banks, cannot yet be substantiated. Neither can Habibie's role in assisting Suharto to make these supposedly bank deposits been substantiated at this moment.

However, what can be substantiated is that several major Swiss companies have contributed to the fortunes of the Suhartos, their in-laws, and their cronies. It can also be substantiated that Acting President B.J. Habibie, one of Suharto's closest crony, has also maintained his Swiss contacts during the last two decades.

Through all those cronies and business partners, Suharto has for three decades mobilized support -- quite successfully, I have to admit – both from the predominantly Non-Muslim Chinese business elite as well as from the predominantly Muslim indigenous (pribumi ) business elites for his kleptocratic rule in Indonesia.

The following list is a recapitalution of those Swiss business links which may have been mobilized to assist the Suhartos, the Habibies and their cronies to transfer large portions of their wealth to Swiss. From that list
various interesting points can be made:

(1). The Suhartos as well as the Habibies have very interesting partners in the Swiss aircraft and arms industry.

(2). The Suharto family has ties with one of the largest baby formula and pre- packaged food companies, Nestle's, despite the national campaign for breast feeding in Indonesia.

(3). The Suharto family and one of its former (?) cronies, the Wanandi family, have strong business links with two of the largest Basle-based pharmaceutical and chemical companies, Ciba Geigy and Sandoz. Ciba in
particular, had been involved with one of the Suharto family's earlier cronies, Arief Husni, in the nearly US$ 1 million scandal of the so-called "Bimas Gotong Royong" project to launch the Green Revolution in Indonesia in 1969-1970, a corruption case that has been identified by the Commission of Four, an anti-corruption commission set up by Suharto but which recommendations have never been pursued.

And since Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz are planning to merge, making it one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with assets worth US$ 36.3 billion (Australian , April 14, 1998), this Suharto-Wanandi-Swiss business partnership is indeed one of the most lucrative businesses in the world!

(4). Swiss cement companies are also closely linked with the Suharto family and one of their cronies, the Alamsyah family.

(5). Two large Swiss hotel companies are also closely linked with Suharto's cronies, while a well-established Swiss rescue company has a joint venture with the air charter company of Suharto's youngest son, Tommy Suharto.

(6). One of the largest engineering companies, the Swedish-Swiss joint venture, ABB, has close business ties with the Suharto family and two of their cronies, the Liem Sioe Liong and Murdaya families. This company is also involved in the notorious Bakun dam project in Sarawak, which is temporarily postpone due to Malaysia's financial crisis.

(7). Two Zurich-based insurance companies, Swiss Reinsurance Company and Swiss Life, have links with Suharto and Habibie family companies.

(8). Three largest Swiss development -finance banks (SBC, UBS, and Credit Suisse), the Zurich-based Credit Suisse has made the highest number of business links with the Suharto family and their cronies. Through its subsidiary, Credit Suisse First Boston, which has the well-known former US diplomat Richard Holbrooke as its vice chairman, this international banking company links the Suharto family's main bank, Bank Central Asia (BCA) with the US and Swiss banking establishment. In addition to another Swiss bank, the Geneva-based Inter Maritime Bank, Credit Suisse seems to be the most likely conduit to channel the wealth of Indonesia's first family to Switzerland.

And since SBC and UBS are also planning to merge, making it one of the largest banking companies in the world, with total assets worth US$ 33 billion (The Australian , April 14, 1998), it means that the Suharto-linked businesses have access to all the largest Swiss banks.

(9). A less publicized yet potentially indirect Swiss link with Suharto is the Geneva-based Inter Maritime Bank, which dates back to the days of the US$ 10 billion tanker scandal of Indonesia's state oil company, Pertamina, in which the bank's director, Bruce Rappaport was involved.

List of Swiss companies involved in business deals with Suharto, Habibies and their cronies:
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Aircarft and arms industry:
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1. Crypto AG:
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Recently, official Swiss export risk guarantee (ERG) credit has been granted in principle to trhis Swiss company for exporting coding machines, used to encipher texts, to the Headquarters of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI). The  volume of this contract is Sfr 6.1 million (US$ 4 million).

According to undisclosed sources, it seems that the contract does not seem to have been actualized. Hopefully, the Swiss Government -- listening to its own citizens and their numerous human right organizations -- will review and eventually cancel this proposed credit. Because as it stands now, ABRI is already exercising several forms of surveillance activities on the Indonesian civil society, including scrutinizing e-mail messages sent through Indonesian-based servers, and used the same e-mail networks to intimidate activists who are fighting for a greater transparency of the Indonesian economy and against the violations of Indonesian people's universal human rights.

2. Transair Swiss:
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In the early 1980s, B.J. Habibie's former (sic!) employer, the German aircraft and arms giant, Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm, or MBB, searched for ways to arm Saddam Hussein in Iraq's war against Iran. MBB disguised a succession of helicopter deals with Iraq in a variety of ways. The first twenty BO-105s helicopters sold to Iraq wsere listed in the international arms registers compiled by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in 1981 as a production licence granted to the Nuratnio Aircarft Company in Indonesia, which was then headed by Habibie and had its name later changed to IPTN (Industri Pesawat Terbang Nasional).

This arrangement aroused suspicion among West German parliamentarians and peace activists, since Nurtanio had not builts if helicopter plant yet. For years MBB insisted that it had never built and never delivered these aircraft to Iraq. Today, however, MBB officials acknowledge that they were shipped to Baghdad directly from MBB's main helicopter plant just outside Munich, but insisted that they were unarmed "executive transport" helicopters. As investigative journalist Kenneth Timmerman's study on the Western arms industry conspiracy to arm Saddam Hussein has shown, the Iraqi helicopters appear to have left the Munich factory in 1982 and 1983. But they did not go directly to Iraq. First they made a stopover in Switzerland, where a retrofit firm called Transair Swiss  mounted Swiss-built rapid-fire guns and other weaponry. Then the helicpters hopped over the border to Austria, so that the Denzel Company could add communications, navigation, and fire-control systems necessary for military operations. A peace activist group spotted the last of these helicopters in 1984 on the airstrip of Pichling, Austria, in full camouflage dress, as an Iraqi military cargo plane came to load them for the final journey to Baghdad.

Although the relevation that MBB was selling combat helicopters to Iraq set off a scandal in West Germany, MBB managed to deliver dozens more to Iraq, using increasingly clandestine means.

The French newspaper, Le Monde,  on August 8, 1984, reported on the uproar in Germany over the sale. The West German government denied prior knowledgte of the sale and claimed that its arms export control laws had been broken. The helicopter sale and the retrofitting were mentioned in the SIPRI yearbooks (all editions from 1981 to 1985) and in the June 1984 DMS Market Intelligence Report   on Iraq, which gave details of the involvement of Denzel and Transair Swiss. Also Defense and Foreign Affairs Weekly   of February 18-24, 1992, mentioned that Denzel was to carry out additional retrofitting on these helicopters in Baghdad to equip them with antitank missile launchers (Timmerman, 1992: 72-73, 402).

This piece of information is important, because MBB's link with Transair Swiss, which implicates Nurtanio (now, IPTN), is not just past history. In a computer print out dated 13 December 1994 of all IPTN's suppliers and consultants, which I had obtained before fleeing from Indonesia in February 1995, the name "Transair (Suisse) SA" is mentioned, with its address: Route du Nant-d'Avril 101, POB 341 Ch., Swiss. It is unclear for me, what kind of merchandise Transair is supplying to IPTN, nowadays.

However, the contact person of IPTB at Transair (Suisse) SA seems to be Lecroy, whose name is also on the list, and his address looks interestingly similar with Transair's addresss, namely Rue du Nant-d'Avril 101, 1217 Meyrin 1, Swiss. Lecroy's name is mentioned under the category Jasa Asuransi, Pengangkutan dan Jasa lain-lain  (insurance, transportation, and other services).

3. Pilatus Aircraft:
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Suharto's favorite grandson, Ari Haryo Wibowo, also known as Ari Sigit Harjojudanto, has submitted a US$ 80 million proposal to supply the pilot training school in Curug, near Jakarta, with Swiss-made Pilatus trainer aircrafts.

Pilatus Aircraft Industry is a member company of the Oerlikon-Buehrle Group. It is represented in Indonesia by a firm called PT Transavia Utama, which is most likely linked to Ari Sigit. It is listed on the December 13, 1994 list of IPTN suppliers and contractors, as a Jakarta-based company, without an address. However, an advertisement in a technology magazine in Indonesia, congratulating IPTN for launching their N-250 Gatotkaca aircraft on November 10, 1994, by then President Suharto, listed PT Transavia Utama as one of the well-wishers, complete with its address.

(to be continued)