Aceh goes from military to civil emergency
Aceh goes from military to civil emergency
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri changed on Tuesday the martial
law status in Aceh to a state of civil emergency and named
controversial Governor Abdullah Puteh as the administrator, but
that has worried the country's top military man.
In her speech declaring the new status, Megawati emphasized
the need for an assistance and monitoring team to support the
governor so he could carry out his duties.
"The team members will come from my office as the central
administrator of the state of civil emergency, who will fall
under day-to-day supervision of the (ad interim) coordinating
minister for political and security affairs," Megawati said.
Article 5 of the Presidential Decree No. 43/2004 on civil
emergency in Aceh, which will officially be in effect from May
19, requires the governor to follow every instruction from the
central government and any decision he makes must be cleared by
the other local authorities, including the Aceh military
commander.
Based on Law No. 23/1959, the President can appoint a person
other than the governor to lead the state of civil emergency.
Under the current presidential decree, the Aceh governor has
to continue with the government's integrated operation -- which
began exactly a year ago -- including security restoration and
law enforcement, according to Article 6 of the decree.
The new status will likely last six months and is renewable or
can be terminated before the period ends provided there is a
convincing development in the province.
"I hope in a short period we can end the state of civil
emergency. We all expect peace to return there, so our attempts
to develop Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam as part of the Unitary
Republic of Indonesia will soon materialize," Megawati said.
The government also imposed a state of civil emergency in 2000
in Maluku in the wake of sectarian clashes that finally began to
recede in 2002. The government lifted the emergency status in
October last year.
The decision to appoint Puteh as the administrator in Aceh
could spark discontent among the Acehnese, who have been
demanding his resignation over an alleged role in numerous graft
cases.
The martial law administrator had conducted a preliminary
probe, and that will be followed up by the Attorney General's
Office.
No formal investigation can be conducted when it involves a
governor without the President's consent.
Earlier, the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto expressed concern about Megawati's plan to
hand Puteh the reins.
Endriartono said that giving the authority to Puteh would hurt
the people's sense of justice.
"That is our main concern," he said during a hearing with
House's Commission I for defense and security affairs here on
Tuesday.
Endriartono said he had consulted ad interim Coordinating
Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno and the
President regarding the matter.
According to Hari, the replacement of a governor would require
the recommendation of the provincial legislature, who elected
Puteh four years ago.
Based on investigations by the martial law administrator, most
of the provincial legislature members were allegedly involved in
the financial scandals.
"Please, the House members must assess this case," he pleaded.
Puteh has reportedly been involved in at least three high-
profile cases -- the price mark-up in the purchase of a Russian-
made helicopter and a used printing press for the administration
and the procurement of cars for 53 local councillors. The cases
are being handled by the Banda Aceh prosecutor's office.
The helicopter purchase is believed to have been marked up by
some Rp 6 billion (US$674,150), while Rp 4.2 billion was said to
be spent on the printing press, which is not operable.
Special report -- Page 5