Aceh to start enforcing Islamic dress code this month<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Authorities in Indonesia's devoutly Muslim province of Aceh,
\nwho have introduced Islamic syariah law as a concession to curb
\nseparatist sentiment, said Monday they will start enforcing an
\nIslamic dress code in towns and cities this month.<\/p>\n
Provincial secretary Thantawi Ishak said the regulations would
\nbe introduced on March 15.<\/p>\n
\"In the first phase, proper Muslim attire for women will be
\nrequired in all urban areas in Aceh,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Islam requires women to cover everything except their face,
\nhands and feet.<\/p>\n
Muslim men must cover their midriff and wear shorts which
\ncover their knees.<\/p>\n
Ishak said police would conduct street checks but initially
\nviolators would just be warned and excluded from urban areas.<\/p>\n
Future sanctions would be decided in talks between the syariah
\noffice, the Muslim Scholars' Council and local police.<\/p>\n
\"Firm sanctions would come from Allah because the order to
\ncover up the body comes from the Holy Koran,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government in 1999 authorized provincial
\nauthorities to implement partial syariah law.<\/p>\n
Last year parliament also passed a law which grants the
\nprovince greater autonomy and a much larger share of oil and gas
\nrevenues.<\/p>\n
Ishak also said all government and private offices must
\ninstall business signs in Arabic-style script.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but Islam
\nis not the official religion and syariah law is not in force
\nanywhere else in the archipelago.<\/p>\n
An estimated 10,000 people have died since the Free Aceh
\nMovement began to fight for an independent Islamic state in
\nDecember 1976.<\/p>\n
Soldiers shot dead one young man in Samadua, South Aceh on
\nSunday residents there told journalists without providing any
\nfurther details.<\/p>\n
Villagers also found the body of two men, both with gunshot
\nwounds in Blang Bintang, West Aceh, a local humanitarian activist
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Three civilians including a woman were found dead with gunshot
\nwounds in the Bireuen district on Saturday following a military
\nsearch in the area the previous evening, residents said.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of villagers have fled their homes, they said.<\/p>\n
At Juli Teupin in the same district villagers found the body
\nof a farmer but the cause of death was not immediately known.<\/p>\n
The bodies of three other men, all with gunshot wounds, were
\nfound Sunday in two separate locations at Lamno in West Aceh, a
\nhumanitarian activist said.<\/p>",
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