SIRA seeks help from HDC and JSC to free leader<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) has asked the Joint
\nSecurity Committee (JSC) to help secure the release of its pro-
\nindependence leader, Muhammad Nazar, being held on charges of
\norganizing an illegal rally.<\/p>\n
\"We have asked the JSC and HDC (Henry Dunant Centre) to help
\nus in getting Nazar immediately released because his arrest is
\nagainst the spirit of the peace agreement,\" SIRA secretary-
\ngeneral Ruslan Razali was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Nazar was arrested by seven Banda Aceh police officers at his
\nhome at Lampulo Baru village in Kuta Alam subdistrict last
\nWednesday at around 1:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
The predawn arrest, the second one in two years, came after a
\ntwo-week hunt for the SIRA chief.<\/p>\n
Police said Nazar was arrested in connection with his speeches
\ncampaigning for a referendum in the troubled province of Aceh,
\nwhich they added could discourage the government's efforts to
\npromote the fragile peace deal signed on Dec. 9.<\/p>\n
The suspect has been accused of mobilizing people in the North
\nAceh town of Lhokseumawe on Jan. 8 for the pro-independence
\ncampaign, for which he is charged with violating Article 510 of
\nthe Criminal Code and Article 10 of Law No. 9\/1998 on public
\nspeeches without permit.<\/p>\n
But Ruslan said Nazar's arrest was \"an act of violence,
\nintimidation and provocation\" designed to persecute the Acehnese
\npeople who want to live in a democratic atmosphere.<\/p>\n
The detention is a serious violation of the peace agreement
\nbetween the government and the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to
\ncease almost three decades of hostilities, he added.<\/p>\n
Ruslan said the police resorted to intimidation and damaged a
\ncivilian's property in arresting his colleague, who had been
\nsentenced to nine months in prison two years ago for spreading
\nhatred against the government.<\/p>\n
The SIRA secretary-general urged the JSC overseeing the truce
\nto reprimand the government for violating the agreement. The
\ncommittee comprises representatives from HDC, GAM and the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Ruslan dismissed the police's criminal charges against Nazar,
\nsaying the arrest was politically motivated.<\/p>\n
The police's statement that Nazar had illegally mobilized
\npeople in February should be rejected because the rally in
\nquestion was called by an organizing committee, he added.<\/p>\n
\"About the charge that Nazar insulted the Indonesian
\ngovernment ... I think there have been other parties who have
\nfired more serious insults at the government but they remain
\nfree,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The police are searching for another Acehnese pro-independence
\nactivist, Kautsar, allegedly involved in the same rally.<\/p>\n
The North Aceh police said they had summoned both Nazar and
\nKautsar for questioning over the rally, but the suspects failed
\nto show up.<\/p>\n
The government asserts that the rebels have committed serious
\nviolations of the fragile truce that has yet to bring a complete
\nend to the bloodshed since Dec. 9.<\/p>\n
The government also accused GAM and other groups of trying to
\ntwist the facts drawn up in the peace pact by telling locals that
\na referendum would take place in the future in the troubled
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
SIRA is an organization founded by various civilian groups in
\nAceh. It helped sponsor an Acehnese student and youth congress in
\n1999 against the government. Its main agenda is campaigning for a
\nreferendum in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The government has dismissed the idea of a referendum in Aceh
\nand instead granted the province special autonomy in 2000.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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