Aceh calm after GAM celebration
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The situation was generally calm in this restive province on Sunday following an overnight celebration of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) anniversary, except for police shooting of a young reveler in Pidie.
Business activities returned to normal with markets and shops reopening and public transportation reoperating, reports said.
A number of buses plying Banda Aceh to the neighboring province North Sumatra's capital Medan were seen along roads linking the two towns.
But tension gripped Pidie for the second day running when police troops fired on 2,000 people marching on the main road connecting Banda Aceh and Medan in Uglele subdistrict from Bireun. The mass, some of them waved GAM flags and referendum banners, was heading for Sigli, some 100 kilometers away from Bireun.
Pidie Police Chief Lt. Col. Endang E. Mikail Bagus identified the victim as Effendi Ahmad, 20, a resident of Batai Raya village in Bireun.
The shooting took place before dusk in front of the Uglele police station.
"We had to fire warning shots after one of the people lowered the national flag at a high school near the police station. Some of them also attacked the police," Endang said, defending the shooting.
Witnesses said Effendi was shot in the head. He died on way to a doctor in neighboring Merdu subdistrict.
Carrying Effendi's body, the mass insisted on carrying on the march to Sigli. But dozens of police stopped them in Merdu and after two hours of negotiations, they canceled their plan.
In East Aceh, about 3,000 children and teenagers poured into the main streets along Peurelak to the Langsa area, waving GAM flags and referendum banners.
The rally, which started at midday on Sunday, eventually ended later in a day without incident.
It was also reported in West Aceh that locals continued the search for two missing civilians over the weekend in Teunom district, 200 kilometers southeast of Banda Aceh.
The two men, identified as Sarwani, 25, and Muchtar, 25, went missing after their groups of a referendum parade were dispersed by officers of Mobile Brigade at Alue Ambang village in Teunom on Saturday.
Another civilian, Zainal Abidin, 35, survived the incident with a gunshot wound and was being treated at Meulaboh hospital.
Locals said it was possible that the two missing men jump into the Teunom river to flee the fray, but some also suspected that they were brought in to Mobile Brigade Police headquarters in Meulaboh.
West Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Her Aris Sumarman confirmed the incident, but denied allegations that his office made the arrest. "None of Saturday's parade participants were captured," Aris said on Sunday.
Police were forced to disperse the crowd after spotting some armed civilians within the parade, Her Aris said.
GAM chief in Meuhorom Daya, Teunom, however, denied on Sunday that there were armed GAM members joining the parade. "We're busy securing the flag hoisting ceremony," he said.
Separately in Yogyakarta, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais reiterated on Sunday that it is impossible to involve a third party in solving the Aceh matter, as requested by GAM.
"A third party is only needed when it comes to international disputes like the East Timor case," Amien said after attending a ground breaking ceremony for the development of Baitul Qohhar Mosque in Kota Gede.
Amien also expressed his gladness that the GAM anniversary went without incidents of tearing the red-and-white national flag.
"We hope that this is a good sign and reconciliation can soon start in this coming holy fasting month," Amien said.
In Semarang, political observer from Diponegoro University Ari Pradanawati warned the government and military to be cautious of possible horizontal conflicts between Acehnese.
A split between supporters of Aceh's independence and the ones who want to stay part of the country is emerging, Ari said, pointing to example of calls for refugees sheltered in North Sumatra to reenter Aceh and join GAM.
"We have to avoid greater conflict, which can add to the already complex problem," Ari said on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, about 50 Islamic students from Semarang met with provincial councilors, calling on the Acehnese to stop efforts to separate from the country and abort a plan to build an Islamic state. "We belong together. We can build a better future," Mardjono, the group leader, said.
The students also called on councilors to make a concrete statement for Aceh to stay part of the republic.
President Abdurrahman Wahid has so far ruled out a referendum on independence and has warned that Jakarta would take repressive action against any efforts to break away from the country. (44/50/har/edt/byg)