Acehnese women protest extortion, corruption cases<\/p>\n
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
In a rare event in war-torn Aceh, more than 40 traders, all
\nwomen, held a protest march in Banda Aceh against extortion and
\nthe local administration's corruption of government subsidies.<\/p>\n
The protesters marched from near the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque
\nto the governor's office holding banners protesting the
\nblackmailing of small-scale traders in traditional markets.<\/p>\n
They also protested the discriminative distribution of
\nfinancial assistance to local traders.<\/p>\n
Rally coordinator Zainabon said many officials in the city
\nadministration did not distribute financial assistance to local
\ntraders fairly.<\/p>\n
\"The government has allocated Rp 30 billion to empower small-
\nscale traders and roadside vendors but so far most of the funds
\nhave been distributed to officials' cronies and families,\" she
\nsaid during a free speech forum in Simpang Lima.<\/p>\n
She also called on local security authorities to crack down on
\nhoodlums and unauthorized city officials who extorted traders and
\nroadside vendors in the city.<\/p>\n
A senior official at the governor's office, who asked for
\nanonymity, supported the protest rally, saying many local
\nofficials' families and cronies had corrupted the money.<\/p>\n
\"The rally is a strong indication that the extortion has been
\na major problem among the traders because such protests have
\nhappened very rarely,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Following the mounting tension between the security
\nauthorities and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) since 1998, many
\nlocals have been reluctant to hold protest marches.<\/p>\n
The rally proceeded while a ceremony was held to mark the
\nrecent revival of the Iskandar Muda Military Command overseeing
\nthe province, at the military command's headquarters in the city.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the Iskandar Muda Military Command supervising the
\nprovince also installed their headquarters in a thanksgiving
\nceremony, locally known as peusojuek<\/p>\n
In the ceremony, Brig. Gen. M. Djali Yusuf, chief of the
\nmilitary command warned the militant Laskar Jihad group against
\ntrying to create more disturbances in the restive province.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want to see the security situation in Aceh being
\nharmed. Should they (Laskar Jihad members) foment new violence in
\nAceh, the Indonesian Military will face them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Djali told the Java-based extremist group to disclose the
\nmotive behind its arrival in the provincial capital of Banda
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
\"What's the use of their entry to Aceh? Do they want to wage
\nholy war? Who do they want to fight? We already have a security
\ninstitution,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The recently installed military chief said that security
\npersonnel would arrest group members if they sparked violence in
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
The warning came a day after Laskar Jihad held a gathering
\ninside Banda Aceh's Baiturrahman Grand Mosque on Monday, which
\nwas attended by about 200 people, mostly its own members.<\/p>\n
Laskar Jihad armed forces commander Jafar Umar Thalib led a
\nsecond gathering at the newly inaugurated Laskar Jihad
\nheadquarters in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The notorious group had planned for a mass rally at the mosque
\non Monday, a move met by strong opposition from the rebel Free
\nAceh Movement (GAM) and other Acehnese.<\/p>\n
Objections also came from local religious leaders, who banned
\na rally organized by Laskar Jihad who have alleged ties to army
\ngenerals.<\/p>\n
As separatist rebels warned of using force to prevent the
\nmilitants from staging the rally, Tengku Sofyan Hamzah, leader of
\nthe main mosque, said the event could lead to a religious war in
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
However, despite the ban, Laskar Jihad went ahead with the
\npeaceful gathering on Monday led by Jafar, which was held after
\nlate afternoon Ashar prayers. No attacks on the militants were
\nreported.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the prayers, group members installed its own
\nmicrophone at the yard, but later moved it inside the mosque.<\/p>\n
In a sermon lasting more than an hour, Jafar called on
\nAcehnese to unite with Muslims and reject western intervention in
\nresolving the conflict.<\/p>\n
He accused westerners of destroying Islam and Muslims.<\/p>\n
\"If conflict takes place among Muslims, the solution should be
\nreferred to the teachings of Alquran and Prophet Muhammad, not by
\nasking for help from non-Muslims.\"<\/p>\n
He said that only Muslim countries should be involved in
\nmediating in peace talks between Acehnese and the government. \"If
\nOIC (the Organization of Islamic Conference) members are asked
\nfor help, God willing they will want to do so.\"<\/p>\n
Jafar denied rumors he would be arrested by police in Banda
\nAceh ahead of Monday's gathering. \"A police intelligence officer
\ndid come to me to know about me and to say hello to me,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also denied that Laskar Jihad's entry to Aceh would spark
\nmore violence, saying his visit was only part of the
\norganization's routine activities.<\/p>\n
\"We have just opened the provincial branch of Laskar Jihad in
\nBanda Aceh. Our activities here focus on social affairs and
\npropagation as we do in other provinces,\" he said,<\/p>\n
Western intelligence sources say hardline Muslim generals
\ncovertly set up Laskar Jihad two years ago as a tool to
\ndestabilize former president Abdurrahman Wahid, a reformist
\nMuslim cleric.<\/p>\n
GAM leaders said they refused the presence of Laskar Jihad in
\nAceh because it could create religious, racial and ethnic
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
They accused the Indonesian Military of backing their entry in
\nthe war-torn province.<\/p>\n
Laskar Jihad has waged a holy war against Christians in the
\ncountry's eastern Maluku islands and in the Poso regency in
\nCentral Sulawesi.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/acehnese-women-protest-extortion-corruption-cases-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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