Summary of "My father was killed covering the Aceh conflict. 20 years later, I went back"

Overview

This report follows Ridhwan Siregar’s search for answers about the 2003 killing of his father, Ersa Siregar, a journalist who was kidnapped by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in June 2003 and shot dead on 29 December 2003 during the Aceh conflict. Over the years some accounts suggested government forces — not GAM — fired the shots that killed Ersa. The family never had definitive confirmation, and Ridhwan wanted to confront whoever was responsible to gain closure.

Background

Ersa Siregar was part of a reporting team captured by GAM in 2003.
Conflicting accounts and the chaos of the Aceh conflict left responsibility for the shooting uncertain for many years.
Ridhwan traveled to Aceh with colleague Kiki Siregar to retrace events, interview people connected to Ersa and the case, and follow leads pointing to military involvement.

Investigation

Interviews and eyewitnesses

Ridhwan and Kiki interviewed people who were close to Ersa or to the events surrounding his disappearance and death:

Fery Santoro — Ersa’s cameraman; taken hostage with the team and later released (May 2004). He could not identify the shooter.
Munir Noer — an Aceh-based colleague who raised the alarm when Ersa disappeared and later learned more about the aftermath.
Tengku Kafrawi (Awi) — the local GAM spokesperson in 2003. He confirmed GAM captured the team because two women in the group were military wives, and described the harsh conditions the hostages endured while being moved around.

Shooting site and leads

The team visited the shooting site in Kuala Manihan (then swamp, now oil palm plantations).
Munir and others provided names of military personnel possibly involved, including retired lieutenant-general Bambang Darmono.
Ridhwan and Kiki pursued military leads in Aceh, seeking clarity on whether the shooting was carried out by GAM or by government forces.

Military responses

Ahmad Yani Basuki, the military spokesperson in Aceh at the time, said there were only small troop numbers in the area and that the shooting was not part of an organized rescue operation. He, like others interviewed, could not name the shooter.
After months of calls and tracking people down, Ridhwan and Kiki located a marine who admitted — off camera and on condition of anonymity — that he led the patrol which fired on the hut where GAM were staying.

The marine’s account (anonymized)

He said his unit did not know hostages were inside the hut.
They observed people cooking, could not see faces clearly, and an exchange of shots occurred.
The engagement lasted about 5–10 minutes.
He claimed to have found Ersa’s body and press ID afterward.
He apologized and described the death as accidental.

“He apologizes, calling the death accidental.” — summary of the anonymous marine’s statement

Outcome and significance

Ridhwan says he cannot fully verify the marine’s account (the marine was the only serviceman they could track down).
Despite limitations in verification, Ridhwan accepted the apology; meeting the marine brought some personal closure and a deeper appreciation of his father’s life and work.
The report frames the killing within the wider chaos of the Aceh conflict: confused operations, disputed responsibility, and long-lasting uncertainty for victims’ families.
The result is a partial resolution for one son’s long search for truth rather than a definitive, independently verified attribution of responsibility.