Former rebels behind bars despite amnesty<\/p>\n
Dozens of Acehnese rebel prisoners eligible for release under a
\nhistoric peace agreement remain behind bars, separatists said
\nSunday, calling on the government to make sure they're freed.<\/p>\n
\"At least 86 rebels accused of treason or subversion against
\nthe state are being held in 12 jails,\" said rebel spokesman
\nTeungku Jamaica. \"If the government does not do anything to grant
\nthem amnesty, we will complain to international peace monitors.\"<\/p>\n
Indonesia said last week it had emptied its jails of more than
\n1,400 rebel political prisoners, honoring a major concession in
\nthe accord signed by the government and the rebels in Finland
\nlast month.<\/p>\n
The peace deal is seen by many as the best chance in years to
\nend three decades of fighting that has claimed nearly 15,000
\nlives in tsunami-battered Aceh province.<\/p>\n
A government official who oversaw the prison releases said
\nSunday he would investigate the rebels' claims.<\/p>\n
Zulhakil Mubin, a Justice and Human Rights Department
\nofficial, acknowledged that several rebels remain in prisons in
\nMedan, North Sumatra, but said a further investigation was
\nrequired to see what crimes they committed.<\/p>\n
The Helsinki accord said rebels accused of criminal acts would
\nnot be pardoned.<\/p>\n
Syahroul Juned, a rebel who remained in a Jakarta jail, said
\nhe does not know why he was passed over. \"I should be released,\"
\nSyahroul Juned, also known as Abu Gubeng, told The Associated
\nPress in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n
Juned, a rebel intelligence officer, said he was sentenced to
\nseven years in jail in 2002 for weapons possession. Though he was
\nasked during his trial if he was involved in the bombing of a
\nJakarta mall that same year, he said he was cleared of those
\ncharges.<\/p>\n
\"According to the Helsinki accord, I should no longer be in
\njail,\" he said. -- AP<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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