Aceh at standstill as mass strike starts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Parts of Aceh came to a halt on Wednesday as
\nresidents began a two-day strike protesting military violence in
\nthe province, while a shoot-on-sight order against armed
\ncivilians was issued by the police.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said streets in the province's main towns were
\ndeserted, with shops, public transportation and businesses
\nclosed.<\/p>\n
\"The shops have all been closed since this morning and the
\nstreets are also very quiet,\" Ahmad Daniel, a hotel employee in
\nthe North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists and students called for the general
\nstrike to demand an end to violence in Aceh and the withdrawal of
\ntroops from the province.<\/p>\n
\"It seems that many people are following the students' call
\nfor the strike,\" Armin Gruber, a member of the International
\nCommittee of the Red Cross, said from Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
An employee at the Lhokseumawe office of the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture, Ali Basya, told the Post that few of his
\ncolleagues came to work on Wednesday. He also said public
\ntransportation was not operating and the market was quiet.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people stocked up on supplies on Monday.<\/p>\n
A few children were seen being taken to school by their
\nparents on motorcycles, but by 11 a.m. they had gone home because
\nmany teachers were absent, Ali said.<\/p>\n
A security official at Lhokseumawe General Hospital said the
\nhospital was quiet although doctors and nurses were at work,
\nbeing excluded from the strike call.<\/p>\n
In Sigli, the capital of Pidie regency, some 125 kilometers
\neast of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, students volunteers
\nassisting some 60,000 refugees there said they would transport
\naid to the refugees only after the strike ended.<\/p>\n
One of the students, Mutia, said it would only be possible to
\ntransport aid if there was a private vehicle to borrow or rent.<\/p>\n
In Banda Aceh, residents said shops were closed and public
\ntransportation vehicles were absent from the streets.<\/p>\n
Antara news agency reported that the city's main markets of
\nKampung Baru and Peunayung were closed and dozens of coffee
\nhouses in the city, which are popular hangouts for residents,
\nwere also closed.<\/p>\n
Junior and high school students said they were given a holiday
\non Wednesday and Thursday from their schools.<\/p>\n
A car from the local military command was seen cruising the
\nstreets urging the people to continue with their daily
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
Shoot on sight<\/p>\n
The strike came as National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi said
\nin Jakarta police had launched a new offensive to crush a
\nresurgence of separatist activity in Aceh. He also issued a
\nshoot-on-sight order against civilians carrying arms.<\/p>\n
\"I order police to shoot those whose identities aren't clear
\nand who are armed,\" Roesmanhadi said.<\/p>\n
\"If people are dressed in plainclothes and are armed ... this
\nconcerns the security of officers ... and also bothers the
\npublic,\" he said, adding the orders were not to shoot to kill,
\nbut to disable.<\/p>\n
Roesmanhadi said the new offensive would be a six-month-long
\noperation ending in January 2000, and would involve 6,186 Aceh
\nPolice officers and auxiliaries.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has deployed some 3,100 riot police and 2,000 troops
\nto the province as reinforcements for the operation, he said.<\/p>\n
Roesmanhadi said the police were still in command of security
\noperations in the oil-rich province, and riot troops were present
\nonly to assist the understaffed local police force.<\/p>\n
Roesmanhadi also said clashes between the military and members
\nof the Free Aceh Movement had resulted in the death of at least
\n211 people, including 44 security personnel, since May.<\/p>\n
More than 150 buildings, including dozens of schools and
\ngovernment offices, have also been burned, he said.<\/p>\n
Most of the violence has taken place in the regencies of
\nPidie, North Aceh and East Aceh, where most of the violence
\noccurred during the decade-long military operation which was
\nhalted last year.<\/p>\n
He said security personnel would also secure the main traffic
\nroute between Banda Aceh and the North Sumatran capital of Medan.<\/p>\n
The police have recorded 98,618 Acehnese who have sought
\nrefuge in 26 shelters since the recent outbreak of violence,
\nRoesmanhadi said.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, nine protesters grouped in the United
\nPeople of Aceh occupied the Dutch Embassy on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said
\nin South Jakarta demanding Aceh's independence from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
They demanded the Dutch government lobby the United Nations on
\ntheir behalf.<\/p>\n
Separately Antara reported that the Golkar Party charged the
\ngovernment of not being serious to settle problems in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"I think it is no exaggeration to say that the government is
\nnot serious about finding a solution to the Aceh problem or that
\nthe government considers it as insignificant,\" chairman Akbar
\nTandjung said.<\/p>\n
Injustices had led to protests, and the problem was now more
\ncomplex with armed groups and the tens of thousands of refugees,
\nAkbar said. (byg\/anr\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aceh-at-standstill-as-mass-strike-starts-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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