Aceh activist gets five years behind bars for `hostility'

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The Banda Aceh District Court handed an unwanted birthday present to Muhammad Nazar, the chairman of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), in the form of a five-year jail term for "displaying hostility" to the government through his campaign for a self-determination referendum in Aceh.

"The defendant is guilty of sowing hatred against the lawful government of the Republic of Indonesia," Presiding Judge Sabirin said in his verdict on Nazar, who turned 30 on Tuesday.

He said Nazar had violated Article 154 of the Criminal Code on sowing hatred and hostility against the legal government, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

Nazar smiled upon hearing the verdict, which was lighter than the prosecution request for six years imprisonment.

Carrying her two-year-old child, Dewi Meutia, his wife, rushed up to Nazar to hand over a sheet of paper congratulating him on his birthday.

"Today is Bang Nazar's birthday. It's his birthday present," she said in tears.

According to the court, Nazar was guilty of promoting the issue of a referendum and independence, as well as calling for a boycott of the government administration in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam during a series of speeches before thousands of people in North Aceh and Aceh Besar regencies in January during the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, which was signed by the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva on Dec. 9 last year.

Nazar was arrested early on the morning of Feb. 12, when the peace accord was on the brink of collapse. After it did collapse, it was followed by the imposition of martial law in Aceh on May 19.

The judges said Nazar's moves had lessened respect for the government and could damage the Unitary Republic of Indonesia's integrity.

"The defendant, who had been sentenced for 10 months in a similar case in the past, did not regret his actions," Judge Sabirin said, presenting factors supporting the judges' reasoning.

Nazar was sentenced on Nov. 20, 2000, on the same charges.

After the trial, Nazar asserted that he and his fellow activists would continue to seek a peaceful solution to the Aceh problem through a referendum.

"I still have a dream that the Aceh people will be given the right to voice their opinions through a referendum. My detention will not stop the struggle," he told The Jakarta Post.

Nazar, who has chaired SIRA since 1992, said he would appeal the verdict.

Nazar's lawyer Darwis questioned the verdict, which he claimed was "not in proportion to the offense."

"As far as I know, several defendants in similar cases in other parts of the country were sentenced to between one and two years only," Darwis said.