Aceh goes from military to civil emergency<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri changed on Tuesday the martial
\nlaw status in Aceh to a state of civil emergency and named
\ncontroversial Governor Abdullah Puteh as the administrator, but
\nthat has worried the country's top military man.<\/p>\n
In her speech declaring the new status, Megawati emphasized
\nthe need for an assistance and monitoring team to support the
\ngovernor so he could carry out his duties.<\/p>\n
\"The team members will come from my office as the central
\nadministrator of the state of civil emergency, who will fall
\nunder day-to-day supervision of the (ad interim) coordinating
\nminister for political and security affairs,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
Article 5 of the Presidential Decree No. 43\/2004 on civil
\nemergency in Aceh, which will officially be in effect from May
\n19, requires the governor to follow every instruction from the
\ncentral government and any decision he makes must be cleared by
\nthe other local authorities, including the Aceh military
\ncommander.<\/p>\n
Based on Law No. 23\/1959, the President can appoint a person
\nother than the governor to lead the state of civil emergency.<\/p>\n
Under the current presidential decree, the Aceh governor has
\nto continue with the government's integrated operation -- which
\nbegan exactly a year ago -- including security restoration and
\nlaw enforcement, according to Article 6 of the decree.<\/p>\n
The new status will likely last six months and is renewable or
\ncan be terminated before the period ends provided there is a
\nconvincing development in the province.<\/p>\n
\"I hope in a short period we can end the state of civil
\nemergency. We all expect peace to return there, so our attempts
\nto develop Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam as part of the Unitary
\nRepublic of Indonesia will soon materialize,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
The government also imposed a state of civil emergency in 2000
\nin Maluku in the wake of sectarian clashes that finally began to
\nrecede in 2002. The government lifted the emergency status in
\nOctober last year.<\/p>\n
The decision to appoint Puteh as the administrator in Aceh
\ncould spark discontent among the Acehnese, who have been
\ndemanding his resignation over an alleged role in numerous graft
\ncases.<\/p>\n
The martial law administrator had conducted a preliminary
\nprobe, and that will be followed up by the Attorney General's
\nOffice.<\/p>\n
No formal investigation can be conducted when it involves a
\ngovernor without the President's consent.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto expressed concern about Megawati's plan to
\nhand Puteh the reins.<\/p>\n
Endriartono said that giving the authority to Puteh would hurt
\nthe people's sense of justice.<\/p>\n
\"That is our main concern,\" he said during a hearing with
\nHouse's Commission I for defense and security affairs here on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Endriartono said he had consulted ad interim Coordinating
\nMinister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno and the
\nPresident regarding the matter.<\/p>\n
According to Hari, the replacement of a governor would require
\nthe recommendation of the provincial legislature, who elected
\nPuteh four years ago.<\/p>\n
Based on investigations by the martial law administrator, most
\nof the provincial legislature members were allegedly involved in
\nthe financial scandals.<\/p>\n
\"Please, the House members must assess this case,\" he pleaded.<\/p>\n
Puteh has reportedly been involved in at least three high-
\nprofile cases -- the price mark-up in the purchase of a Russian-
\nmade helicopter and a used printing press for the administration
\nand the procurement of cars for 53 local councillors. The cases
\nare being handled by the Banda Aceh prosecutor's office.<\/p>\n
The helicopter purchase is believed to have been marked up by
\nsome Rp 6 billion (US$674,150), while Rp 4.2 billion was said to
\nbe spent on the printing press, which is not operable.<\/p>\n
Special report -- Page 5<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aceh-goes-from-military-to-civil-emergency-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }