'Referendum' banners rife in Aceh<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Hundreds of banners demanding a referendum
\nover the province's future were visible on Friday and Saturday
\nthroughout villages along the eastern coast of Aceh, from the
\ntown of Pidie to the North Sumatra borderline, Antara reported on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Posters were also displayed at bus terminals and markets in
\nLhokseumawe, the site of recent violence. Lhokseumawe is 270
\nkilometers east of here.<\/p>\n
All banners and posters were written in the local dialect.<\/p>\n
Some said \"We demand a peaceful referendum, not a bloody
\nreferendum.\"<\/p>\n
Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud, who the news agency said had
\ntraveled back and fro from Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh over
\nthe past week, did not comment on the demands.<\/p>\n
Syamsuddin has suggested that a federal system would be best
\nto maintain the country's unity, while students have called for a
\nreferendum to determine whether the Acehnese want a separate
\nstate.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that the banners and posters were put in place
\nfollowing an Acehnese students congress -- organized by the
\nAction Coalition of Acehnese Students and Nusantara Youths-
\nStudents Committee -- here early last month.<\/p>\n
Torture, abduction and killings of over 800 civilians have
\nbeen only recently exposed since the military declared the
\nprovince a military operation zone in 1989. The status was lifted
\nlast year, after which civilian and military victims have
\ncontinued to fall.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/referendum-banners-rife-in-aceh-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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