Fire destroys three schools, bus in Aceh<\/p>\n
Nani Farida, The Jakarta post, Lhokseumawe<\/p>\n
With only a couple of days to go before the Aceh peace talks
\nstart, three junior high schools and a bus were set on fire in
\nLhokseumawe, a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
\nraising condemnations from numerous sides in the region.<\/p>\n
Three groups believed to be members of GAM torched the three
\nschools, located in the Banda Sakti, Muara Dua and Dewantara
\nsubdistricts, almost at the same time on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A Pelangi passenger bus was also torched in the Dewantara
\nsubdistrict and the blaze is believed to have been set by the
\nsame group. Eyewitnesses said the bus, which was traveling at a
\nhigh speed from Medan, North Sumatra, to Banda Aceh, was stopped
\nand all passengers were asked to get off before it was doused
\nwith kerosene and set on fire.<\/p>\n
Maj. Zaenal Muttaqin, the spokesman for the security
\nrestoration operation, accused GAM of being behind the arson
\nattacks. He based his accusation on the testimony of
\neyewitnesses, adding that the burning of the three schools was
\nthe work of the rebels in an attempt to foil the Indonesia-GAM
\npeace talks.<\/p>\n
\"The fires could only be put out after a large part of the
\nbuildings had burned,\" he said, citing that the arson occurred at
\nabout 8:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Daud, a spokesman for GAM in that region, was not
\navailable for comment.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Ilyas Wabah, the chief of the local education and
\ncultural office, condemned the incidents, saying that the fires
\nhad contributed to creating a lost generation in the province
\nbecause more than 100 schools had been burned down over the last
\ntwo years.<\/p>\n
\"The burning of the schools causes hundreds of young students
\nto lose out on classes or to completely stop their education.
\nThey stay at home or join the separatist movement,\" he said,
\nadding that thousands of school-aged children had dropped out of
\nschool over the last two years.<\/p>\n
Ali Basyah, an informal leader in North Aceh, condemned the
\narson attacks, saying that it would maintain the province's
\nbackwardness in the education field and sow hatred among the
\npeople of both conflicting sides.<\/p>\n
He called on local authorities to increase security not only
\nat strategic industries but also at public facilities, such as
\nschools, mosques, public transportation and terminals in the
\nregency.<\/p>\n
\"So far, schools, mosques, buses and terminals have been
\ntargets for devastation during the escalating situation,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Previously, two cars belonging to Serambi Indonesia daily and
\nthe PT AAF fertilizer company were set on fire last week in
\nLhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
Besides Aceh Besar, Sigli and East Aceh, North Aceh has been a
\nplace for the most frequent gunfights between GAM and security
\npersonnel. Thousands of Acehnese have been killed in gunfights
\nbetween 1989 and Oct. 2002.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, AFP reported that the violence pitting security
\nauthorities against separatist rebels in the province had killed
\nmore than 1,200 civilians and hundreds more were missing this
\nyear, a rights activist said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"In the first ten months of this year, at least 1,228
\ncivilians were killed in violence while 330 others are missing,\"
\nsaid Rufriadi, the chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute
\n(YLBHI) Aceh chapter.<\/p>\n
He said the records, gathered by the institute's volunteers
\nacross Aceh, also showed that 1,854 civilians were tortured and
\n973 others were arrested without clear reasons during the same
\nperiod.<\/p>\n
Rights activists have said more than 10,000 people have died
\nsince 1976 when separatist rebels from the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM) began fighting for an independent state.<\/p>\n
Representatives of the government and GAM are scheduled to
\nhold another round of peace talks in Geneva on Nov. 2 to Nov. 4,
\n2002.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fire-destroys-three-schools-bus-in-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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