Acehnese clamor for referendum<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): More than one million people took part
\nin a mass rally in Banda Aceh on Monday, sending the loudest and
\nclearest message to date to Jakarta of their demand for a
\nreferendum on self-determination for the province.<\/p>\n
The rally, boasting the largest turnout ever in the restive
\nprovince, passed peacefully as youths and students were recruited
\nto direct the crowd and keep order.<\/p>\n
The military and the police, which have been accused of
\ncommitting atrocities in Aceh, kept a low-key presence.<\/p>\n
The protesters secured the release of some 100 inmates from
\nthe town's two penitentiaries. There was no resistance from the
\nprison guards after they were ordered to open the gates and let
\nthe inmates walk free.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who was in Phnom Penh on Monday,
\nreiterated his support for the referendum call, stressing the
\ndecision was in the hands of the Acehnese.<\/p>\n
\"It is the Acehnese people's affair, not mine,\" he told
\nIndonesian reporters traveling with him during his five-day
\nwhirlwind tour of Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
\"I have said that I am proreferendum. But we must wait and see
\nhow the referendum could be held.\"<\/p>\n
The military has promised to withdraw all its combat troops
\nfrom Aceh, saying the government is abandoning the \"security
\napproach\" to problems in the province.<\/p>\n
The protest paralyzed Banda Aceh, with most government offices
\nclosed for the day. Most shops were also boarded up amid fears of
\nviolence and looting. Schools were deserted as students joined
\nthe rally.<\/p>\n
There were no flights in and out of Blang Bintang Airport on
\nthe city's outskirts and drivers of intercity buses did not dare
\nto enter Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators, mostly youths, students and ulemas,
\nassembled at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in downtown Banda Aceh.
\nMany came from other towns in the province, reflecting the
\nwidespread support that the referendum call now enjoys.<\/p>\n
The rally organizers called the gathering the General Session
\nof the Council for the Fight for the Referendum, which has the
\nIndonesian abbreviation SU MPR, the same initials as the General
\nSession of the People's Consultative Assembly held in Jakarta
\nlast month.<\/p>\n
Speakers took turns to address the crowd, fueling their spirit
\nas they chanted the cry of \"referendum\".<\/p>\n
Leading the general session was Nasir Jamil, who was appointed
\nby acclamation to chair the new Aceh legislative council to rival
\nthe one formed during the general election in June.<\/p>\n
Noted speakers included Tengku Bulqaini Tanjungan, chairman of
\nthe Aceh Thaliban organization, and Cut Nurasikin, an Acehnese
\nwoman activist.<\/p>\n
They argued to loud cheers that the referendum was the best
\nand most just way to determine the future of the province after
\nits people suffered abuses and injustices under Jakarta's rule.<\/p>\n
They also appealed to the crowd to refrain from resorting to
\nviolence in their campaign to organize a referendum.<\/p>\n
Other speakers criticized President Abdurrahman for choosing
\nto embark on a foreign tour before visiting Aceh.<\/p>\n
Many of the protesters who could not get close to the assembly
\ntoured the town.<\/p>\n
Carrying large banners that read \"Yes for Referendum\", they
\nrode on buses, trucks and motorcycles. While most shouted
\nreferendum slogans, some condemned Jakarta's cruelty and human
\nrights atrocities in the province.<\/p>\n
With the exception of a few hundred security personnel who
\nwere deployed around the mosque, the police were conspicuously
\nabsent.<\/p>\n
Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Dedy Suryadi praised the crowd for
\nmaintaining peace during the rally. \"We have also ordered our
\nofficers not to use force in handling the demonstrators.\"<\/p>\n
He confirmed the release of the inmates in the two
\npenitentiaries, saying that security guards were helpless and
\ncould only comply with the demands of the protesters.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Acehnese students also staged demonstrations in
\nMedan, North Sumatra, and Jakarta. In Medan, they showed photos
\ndepicting military brutality in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Irian Jaya at the other end of the archipelago,
\naround 500 people descended on the provincial capital of Jayapura
\nto demand separation from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The protesters, who came from towns including Puncak Jaya,
\nPaniai, Nabire and Yapen Waropen, gathered outside the provincial
\nlegislative council to press their demands for a separate West
\nPapua state.<\/p>\n
Spokesmen for the demonstrators Decky Zonggonau and S. Kobogau
\nsaid Indonesia should return Irian Jaya to its status as an
\nindependent state as declared on Dec. 1, 1963. (39\/51\/prb\/rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/acehnese-clamor-for-referendum-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}