Govt moves to replace Bireuen village chiefs<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government will immediately replace the 76 villages chiefs in
\nBireuen regency, Aceh province, who resigned en masse due to
\nsecurity concerns, while the Indonesian Military (TNI) expressed
\nits readiness to supply soldiers to fill the empty posts.<\/p>\n
\"Those village chiefs are elected by the people, so those who
\nresign must be immediately replaced by new ones,\" Minister of
\nHome Affairs Hari Sabarno was quoted by Antara as saying on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Hari said the administration in Aceh must be kept running, but
\nthat the election of the new village chiefs, who are locally
\nknown as keucik, would require consultation with the Aceh martial
\nlaw administration.<\/p>\n
\"In this emergency situation, we need leaders who are
\npatriotic,\" Hari said.<\/p>\n
If no civilians have the courage to fill these posts, they
\nwill be filled by TNI or police personnel, he added.<\/p>\n
Separately, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said
\nthe TNI was ready to assign soldiers to act as village chiefs if
\nit was instructed to do so.<\/p>\n
\"The TNI has no other intention than to help the people. If
\nthe TNI is ordered to replace these villages chiefs, we will do
\nso,\" he said after officiating at the burial ceremony for the
\nchief of Central Java's Diponegoro Military Command, Maj. Gen.
\nAmirul Isnaini, at the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery.<\/p>\n
The TNI was still seeking the right people to occupy the empty
\nposts, he added.<\/p>\n
At present, 70 percent of the Aceh administration is not
\noperative as many officials had been intimidated, abducted or
\nmurdered by Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, Ryamizard said.<\/p>\n
A total of 76 village chiefs from villages in Peudada, Jeumpa,
\nJeunib and Juli subdistricts in Bireuen regency, which is known
\nas a stronghold of GAM, resigned on Sunday because of pressures
\nfrom both the TNI and GAM.<\/p>\n
They said they could not continue to work under such
\npressures.<\/p>\n
The village chiefs decided to tender their resignations
\nfollowing a meeting at Blank Sepang village on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Previously, reports surfaced of 30 village chiefs seeking
\nrefuge in the Samalanga area in Bireuen due to fears of GAM
\nretaliation after attending a TNI indoctrination course on the
\nUnitary State of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The military operation, Indonesia's largest since the 1975
\nEast Timor invasion, is entering its fourth week in Aceh. The
\nmilitary said on Monday it had killed 160 GAM rebels and taken
\nmore than 300 prisoners. On the military side, 13 soldiers and
\nthree policemen had also died.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-moves-to-replace-bireuen-village-chiefs-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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