Aceh defendant wants Gus Dur to testify

Aceh defendant wants Gus Dur to testify

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): A defendant charged with spreading
antistate propaganda demanded on Tuesday that the Banda Aceh
District Court call President Abdurrahman Wahid as a witness in
the trial over his alleged role in organizing a mass rally
calling for an independence referendum last August.

Muhammad Nazar, the detained chief of the Aceh Referendum
Information Center (SIRA), had earlier objected to the calling of
three police officers as witnesses in the case.

"The three police officers are not government representatives.
The one who should be called as a witness is the President
himself," said Nazar, who appeared in court wearing a cap and a
T-shirt emblazoned with the word "referendum".

The trial was marred by Nazar's being removed from the
courtroom after protesting against the presence of the three
police witnesses.

Presiding judge Farida Hanoum, however, rejected Nazar's
demand.

"In respect of charges of spreading antistate propaganda,
everyone has the right to act as a witness and give testimony,"
Farida said as quoted by Antara.

She added that the police witnesses were directly involved in
the case while the President was not.

The trial continued despite Nazar's protest.

As with the two previous sessions, Tuesday's hearing was held
under tight security.

Brig. Maimun, Brig. T Khairul Waddin and Brig. Khairul
testified before the court on the seized banners being used as
evidence in the case.

The banners, which Nazar allegedly distributed on Aug. 17,
Indonesia's independence day, bore slogans such as "Aceh remains
within the Republic of Indonesia, or becomes Free" and "We are
not Indonesians."

"We confiscated the banners from the Simpang Lima traffic
circle during the rally demanding a referendum last year," one of
the officers said.

The court also heard testimony from an expert witness,
linguist Abdul Djunaidi from Banda Aceh's Syah Kuala University,
regarding the language used in the slogans and its
interpretation.

Nazar is being charged under Articles 154 and 155 of the
Criminal Code on antistate propaganda, which carry a maximum
penalty of seven years in jail.

Nazar was arrested on Nov. 20, 2000 after organizing a mass
rally in the region in August calling for an independence
referendum for the province.

"We had to protest as the prosecution failed to present proper
witnesses," defense counsel Johnson Panjaitan said.

The hearing ended around 1 p.m. and judge Farida adjourned the
trial until Wednesday when the testimony of other witnesses will
be heard. (edt)