Turkish bread, flags hot items in Aceh<\/p>\n
Chris Brummitt, Associated Press\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Turkish bakers making fresh bread for residents of Indonesia's
\ntsunami-ravaged Aceh province are finding their loaves aren't the
\nonly hot item in town.<\/p>\n
Anything emblazoned with the Turkish flag -- a white crescent
\nand star on a red background -- is in high demand, too. The
\nreason: it's a near look-alike of the banned symbol of the
\nregion's separatist rebels.<\/p>\n
\"Everyone here knows this is Aceh's flag,\" said one resident
\npointing to the Turkish flag on his hat, as he waited for bread
\noutside the store in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.<\/p>\n
\"We can wear this safely and the police can do nothing,\" said
\nthe man, who refused to give his name for fear of reprisal.<\/p>\n
For nearly three decades, the Free Aceh Movement rebels have
\nbeen fighting to win government concessions for a referendum on
\nself-determination for Aceh. They have rejected Jakarta's offer
\nof \"special autonomy,\" a form of self-government.<\/p>\n
Since fighting broke out between the two sides' forces in
\n1976, tens of thousands of people have died - at least 15,000 in
\nthe last decade alone.<\/p>\n
Following the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami,
\ngovernment and rebel negotiators have restarted stalled peace
\ntalks that were broken off two years ago by the military. The two
\nsides are due to meet again later this month in Finland's
\ncapital, Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Gauging support for the rebellion in Aceh is tricky.
\nYears of a brutal police and military crackdown against the
\nseparatists -- and their sympathizers -- has left many people in
\nAceh weary of the violence and wary of openly siding with the
\nrebels.<\/p>\n
But the Turkish flag's sudden popularity in Aceh suggests that
\nmany of the 4.1 million residents of this province, on the
\nnorthern tip of Sumatra island, still harbor a strong allegiance
\nto the rebels.<\/p>\n
Two black stripes with a white border running along the top
\nand bottom of the rebel flag mark the only difference with
\nTurkey's banner. But possessing a rebel flag can mean a treason
\ncharge and a long prison sentence. So far, government armed
\nforces have done nothing to try to discourage the craze for
\nTurkish paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
Turkish delegation head Ismail Hakki Turunc is aware of the
\nreaction to his country's flag but prefers to talk about his
\ncrew's relief work.<\/p>\n
\"Before this we didn't know anything about GAM,\" said Turunc,
\nreferring to the rebels by their Indonesian acronym.<\/p>\n
He said the Turkish and rebel flags shouldn't be lumped
\ntogether in the same way the Turkish flag shouldn't be compared
\nto the British soccer club Manchester United's.<\/p>\n
\"The flag is also red, but that doesn't mean we have anything
\nto do with Manchester United,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Turkish bakers are part of a delegation of more than two
\ndozen volunteers, most of them Istanbul city workers. Six bakers
\nand their three Indonesian trainees put in 17-hour days baking as
\nmany as 10,000 loaves in an oven imported from Turkey.<\/p>\n
They have hung huge Turkish flags along the row of shops where
\ntheir relief operations are based, and have won quick friends
\namong many residents.<\/p>\n
Freshly baked bread is something of an exotic food item in
\nIndonesia, where rice and noodles are staples. The bakers add
\nsugar to the bread to make them more palatable to Acehnese.<\/p>\n
\"This is rare up here. We are so isolated,\" said Ibrahim Ali,
\nclutching two loaves to take home to his family. \"I want to come
\nagain tomorrow.\"<\/p>\n
Every day, about 200 Acehnese, many of them women and
\nchildren, queue an hour before the bread is ready to be
\ndistributed at 5 p.m. The leftovers that aren't passed out are
\ntaken to scores of makeshift refugee camps that dot the city.<\/p>\n
\"As long as the people here eat it, it makes me feel good,\"
\nsaid Kamil Kolabas, who is the deputy manager of a state-owned
\nbakery in Istanbul. \"We are giving them a new culture -- bread
\nculture.\"<\/p>\n
Outside the shop, some residents are hunting for flags, not
\nbread.<\/p>\n
Several men outside the bakery approached a reporter and asked
\nfor clothing with the Turkish flag, perhaps mistaking him for
\nTurkish worker.<\/p>\n
One boy smiled and pointed at the flag flying above the shop.
\n\"GAM! GAM!\" he said.<\/p>\n
GetAP 1.00 -- FEB 9, 2005 12:21:30<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/turkish-bread-flags-hot-items-in-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }